Lesufi's failure to act on substance abuse leaves youth in danger
In March 2025, the DA revealed that the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) squandered over R34 million on preliminary planning for the Tembisa Rehabilitation Facility without starting construction, leaving many young people trapped in addiction without access to proper care.
Moreover, the DA highlighted the government's decision to reduce nearly half of its inpatient drug rehabilitation capacity by withdrawing funding from five rehabilitation centres, resulting in the loss of 246 treatment beds. This has resulted in limited access to essential services and highlights the failure of Premier Panyaza Lesufi's administration to decisively address the issue of substance abuse, despite repeated promises.
The shortage of inpatient and outpatient facilities, particularly in underserved and rural communities, means many affected youths lack access to treatment, thereby perpetuating addiction and deepening the crisis.
Unfortunately, substance abuse doesn't exist in isolation; its consequences spread through society, amplifying other crises. One of its most harrowing effects is its role in fuelling crime, violence, deviant behaviour and bullying. Substance abuse also poses challenges in an academic context, resulting in poor academic performance for learners and possibly dropping out of school.
The DA urges the Gauteng Provincial Government to deliver the infrastructure and support systems essential to overcoming substance abuse, ensuring every young person in Gauteng has a chance at a healthy, addiction-free future.
Refiloe Nt'sekhe MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development
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IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Lesufi's failure to act on substance abuse leaves youth in danger
In March 2025, the DA revealed that the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) squandered over R34 million on preliminary planning for the Tembisa Rehabilitation Facility without starting construction, leaving many young people trapped in addiction without access to proper care. Moreover, the DA highlighted the government's decision to reduce nearly half of its inpatient drug rehabilitation capacity by withdrawing funding from five rehabilitation centres, resulting in the loss of 246 treatment beds. This has resulted in limited access to essential services and highlights the failure of Premier Panyaza Lesufi's administration to decisively address the issue of substance abuse, despite repeated promises. The shortage of inpatient and outpatient facilities, particularly in underserved and rural communities, means many affected youths lack access to treatment, thereby perpetuating addiction and deepening the crisis. Unfortunately, substance abuse doesn't exist in isolation; its consequences spread through society, amplifying other crises. One of its most harrowing effects is its role in fuelling crime, violence, deviant behaviour and bullying. Substance abuse also poses challenges in an academic context, resulting in poor academic performance for learners and possibly dropping out of school. The DA urges the Gauteng Provincial Government to deliver the infrastructure and support systems essential to overcoming substance abuse, ensuring every young person in Gauteng has a chance at a healthy, addiction-free future. Refiloe Nt'sekhe MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development
The Citizen
06-06-2025
- The Citizen
Staff shortage leaves 122 ambulances unused
Only 72 out of 194 Mpumalanga ambulances are operational as the province faces a dire emergency personnel shortage crisis. The Mpumalanga department of health has come under fire for not using 122 ambulances due to a shortage of staff. The unions and political parties have slammed the department after the portfolio committee on health recently revealed the department has 194 ambulances, but only 72 are in service. Flip van der Walt, provincial leader of the Public Servants Association of South Africa, slated health MEC Sasekani Manzini. Only 72 ambulances in service 'The officials seem unable to manage the department in line with the Public Finance Management Act,' said Van der Walt. 'Why do you procure 194 ambulances while you know that you only have 72 possible drivers? We all know when vehicles are not operational and standing, it is then that vehicles get damaged.' According to the emergency medical norms and standards, there must be one ambulance per 10 000 people, which means that ideally, Mpumalanga should have at least 480 fully operational ambulances. ALSO READ: Thief who stole ambulance with patient inside granted bail 'At 72 ambulances for a population of five million, it means Mpumalanga has one ambulance for 69 000 people,' said Bosman Grobler, DA spokesperson on health in the Mpumalanga. 'This cannot be acceptable and it is against the emergency medical norms and standards. It is concerning that the shortage and late arrival of ambulances when summoned has become a normality,' said Grobler. 'This is especially true when taking into consideration that the South African national norms and standards recommend EMS [Emergency Medical Services] response time of 15 minutes in urban areas and 40 minutes for rural areas.' 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He said they were concerned that the department was on the verge of relaunching the app in September at a cost of R750 000, a monthly operational cost of between R50 000 and R100 000. Concern about app relaunch He added the DA would engage Manzini to propose she consider employing more EMS personnel to operate ambulances, instead of spending millions more on an app that did not serve its purpose in the past. Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) provincial secretary Cyril Mdluli has also expressed concern. 'We are concerned about the severe and chronic shortage that the department has on EMS personnel, especially since this shortage on EMS relates directly to nursing,' said Mdluli. ALSO READ: EC hijacking horror: Ambulance transporting eight-year-old patient hijacked 'This shortage has resulted in many incidents where patients will wait for long at primary health care after being referred to hospital for further management, which might result in some complications.' He also called on the department to employ more EMS personnel not only with basic qualifications, but also with advanced qualifications that can be able to manage patients' conditions inside ambulances. 'As Denosa we have advised our members to stop escorting patients as their work is in the clinic or hospital and not in an ambulance,' he said. Dept must speed up EMS college Mdluli said the department must speed up an EMS college in the province that will accommodate the current staff members to upskill them on advanced courses as per the Skills Development Act. He said the province currently has few of them and the majority of personnel have basic life support. Mpumalanga department of health spokesperson Dumisani Malamule had not responded to questions by the time of publication. In a recent article by IOL, South African Emergency Personnel's Union president Mpho Mpogeng said Mpumalanga is one of the provinces facing a huge shortage of ambulances. ALSO READ: Ambulance stoning incident condemned Meanwhile, it is also alleged that in Limpopo there is a shortage of qualified ambulance crew, but health department spokesperson Neil Shikwana dismissed the claim. Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi conceded in parliament that there was a shortage of ambulance personnel. He said the government was addressing the matter.
Eyewitness News
04-06-2025
- Eyewitness News
Children's homes, rehabs and shelters face closure once again as Gauteng govt fails to pay
Two months into the financial year, which started in April, hundreds of non-profit organisations in Gauteng have not yet received their subsidies from the provincial Department of Social Development. 'These organisations include domestic violence shelters, child and youth care centres, inpatient substance abuse treatment facilities, and residential facilities for persons with disabilities,' the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee said in a statement on Friday. Organisations GroundUp spoke to say they only have enough reserve funds to last them two or three months before they will have to shut down. This echoes similar chaos last year, when organisations funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development went unfunded for months. Many had to go into debt, from which they have not yet recovered. Premier Panyaza Lesufi intervened last year and a new MEC, Faith Mazibuko, has since taken the helm. But despite promises to restore the department's relationship with the organisations, problems with service agreements and late payments have not been curbed. At least 40 of the crisis committee's 114 member organisations have not been paid and 14 are still waiting for service level agreements (SLAs). According to a statement by the department on Monday, of the 1,640 SLAs issued to organisations, 1,424 have been signed and 818 payments have been made. That leaves more than 600 payments outstanding. And this excludes organisations who have not yet received SLAs, says committee chair Lisa Vetten. Department spokesperson Motsamai Motlhaolwa told GroundUp that late payments were due to challenges with the payment system. He also said some organisations had not signed the SLAs in time, and others were 'non-compliant' with municipalities and in some cases with the Children's Act. CHILDREN'S HOMES FACE CLOSURE Jacaranda Kinderhuis and Louis Botha Children's Home are two of the largest Child and Youth Care Centres in Gauteng and house more than 250 children. Neither centre has received an SLA for the new financial year, says Charlene Grobbelaar, CEO for both Louis Botha and Jacaranda. The subsidies received from the department usually cover 40% of their expenses. The SLA delays are apparently because the department said it requires a J738 form from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to show that no staff members are on the sex offender registry. The department initially accepted proof that the centres had applied for the form from the DOJ on 13 March. But since the start of May, they have received no update from the department. Without funding from the department, both homes are now running on reserve funds, which are quickly running dry. If the funding does not come through soon, the homes can only keep going for 'maximum a month', says Grobbelaar. Operations at both centres have been pared down, reserving the little funds available for food and salaries. Field trips and extracurricular activities have been cancelled. The centres have recently taken in children from small nearby centres that have closed their doors due to funding cuts. 'It's ridiculous, these are children's lives,' said Grobbelaar. Paul Kruger Kinderhuis in Gauteng with room for 63 children, which the department has funded for decades, received verbal indication from the adjudication panel that it would be funded but has not received anything in writing, despite repeated follow-ups. Manager Kobus Vorster said they have enough funds for another two months. Mothaolwa told GroundUp that all funded youth centres that have not received SLAs 'have been appraised on the reasons for the delays'. 'We would also like to bring to your attention that all the [organisations] that have worked with [the department] know our teams at regional offices … We are not sure why they asking us through the media, where we wont even give out information about them, because we respect the working relationship we have with them.' PAST UNDERSPENDING GroundUp previously reported that last year's funding crisis led several organisations to take the department to court over non-payments. Some have still not been paid despite having signed SLAs for the 2024/25 financial year and are still busy fighting for their money in court. The department has said that the reason it could not pay all NPOs was that it had run out of money and overcommitted its budget. GroundUp previously reported that organisations were dissatisfied with this answer. And on Monday, News24 reported that the department will have to return R102-million to the national treasury due to underspending in the 2024/25 financial year. Mothaolwa has previously said that underspending is mainly due to 'compliance' issues. This article first appeared on GroundUp. Read the original article here.
