Latest news with #DepartmentofSocialDevelopment
Daily Maverick
2 hours ago
- General
- Daily Maverick
Gauteng Social Development Department returns R102m to Treasury while NPOs await critical funding
Despite promises and paperwork, numerous Gauteng non-profit organisations are still waiting for vital funding from the provincial Department of Social Development, three months into the financial year. Homes for abused children, youth care centres, and disability support organisations say they're on the verge of collapse, with staff unpaid and children going without essentials. On a chilly winter morning in Gauteng, staff at a small community shelter unlock the doors with more uncertainty than hope. Food supplies are running low, electricity bills are piling up, and many caregivers haven't been paid in weeks. Still, they serve meals and provide critical care to the province's most vulnerable. But one question hangs over every effort: How much longer can they keep going? As of June, dozens of NGOs across Gauteng have gone three months without funding from the provincial Department of Social Development. This financial freeze threatens essential services that support thousands, including children, the elderly, abuse survivors, and people with disabilities. The Gauteng Care Crisis Committee said a closer look at just 11 affected NGOs revealed a grim reality: services for nearly 2,834 people were at risk. Among those hardest hit are Jacaranda Kinderhuis and Louis Botha Children's Home, two of Gauteng's largest child and youth care centres, together sheltering more than 250 children. Charlene Grobbelaar, the CEO of both facilities, said the consequences of the department's inaction were devastating. 'We have stopped all services except the basic needs. We cut down expenditure to the bone, using what little reserve funds we had. Those are now depleted. We have 122 staff and 300 children between the two centres. It's not just 122 individuals who are suffering, it's 122 families,' she said. Silence from the top Beyond the financial strain, organisations are also grappling with a frustrating lack of communication from the department. Despite submitting all required documentation on time, including compliance with new regulations like the J7 38 form (verifying staff are not listed on the sexual offenders register), the organisations have faced weeks of silence. 'Honestly, I hate to say it but this year, it's the truth: the system is failing our children. It's Child Protection Week, the irony of our government not protecting the most vulnerable… They're suffering the most. If you're not even paying the subsidy, how can you say you're protecting children? That's not fair,' she said. The emotional toll is evident. 'You can see it, people are stressed, on edge, running on fumes. Children pick up on everything. Everyone's trying their best, don't get me wrong, but I can see it in their faces. Our vision is to raise empowered enablers, but right now, no one feels empowered,' she said. Grobbelaar emphasised that their centres had met all obligations set out in their Service Level Agreement with the department. 'When you take a job, you and your employer sign a contract that sets expectations. That's what a Service Level Agreement is. We give 100%. We have a multidisciplinary team. We're professional, committed. Our service is good. I'm proud of it, we deliver real care,' she said. 'But here we are, not being paid. Tomorrow, the Auditor-General is coming and I have to ask: With what money were we supposed to care for these children over the past two months?' Delays undermine quality care for vulnerable children Sam Mokgopha from Kids Haven said delays had tangible impacts on service delivery. The organisation has capacity for 176 children across two campuses and employs 94 staff members. The children range in age from four to 18 years, though care can be extended to 21 for those who are still in school. 'Funding goes towards everything — food, transport for children, electricity, water, and salaries for staff including social workers. If there's no money, these basic needs go unmet. Operations get affected, and we can't deliver the quality care the children deserve,' he said. Mokgopha emphasised that many children's homes, especially those without financial reserves, were severely affected. 'Many NGOs are in crisis, and in places like Pretoria some still haven't received any payments at all,' he said. When asked about communication with the department, Mokgopha said there was always a mismatch between what the department communicated and what actually happened on the ground. 'Even when timelines are shared, payments are still delayed. The gap between policy and practice is wide,' he said. He was especially critical of the disconnect between public messaging and operational reality. 'It's ironic that the department speaks about working together to protect vulnerable children, yet delays in funding directly harm those very children. If we really believe in child protection, we must ensure the systems that support it are properly funded and functional,' he said. Mokgopha urged the full implementation of the Sector Funding Policy, a national framework that sets clear timelines for signing Service Level Agreements, disbursing funds, and reporting. He said that if the policy were properly followed, organisations would know exactly when to expect funding, removing the annual uncertainty and anxiety that peaked every April and May. Deliberate bureaucratic delays Lisa Vetten, the chairperson of the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee, criticised what she described as deliberate delays and chronic mismanagement by the department. 'This is the second year in a row they've returned unspent funds to the Treasury that were meant for NPOs. Last year, it was around R230-million. This year, it's R102-million. After all the protests and promises, especially the Premier's pledge to restore funding, this money still wasn't spent,' she said. Exacerbating the situation, Vetten said, was the fact that many organisations were still running on 2022/2023 budgets with no adjustments for inflation or cost of living. The department's insistence on compliance from NGOs stands in sharp contrast to its own conduct, with Vetten highlighting the department's failure to sign contracts, delayed payments, and the money that was returned to the Treasury. 'When provinces underspend, the Treasury allocates them less money the following year. So the Department of Social Development's failure to manage its funds properly could jeopardise future budgets, further threatening services to vulnerable groups,' she said. The delays are occurring during Child Protection Week, a time when the department has intensified messaging around safeguarding children. 'It's deeply concerning. Child and Youth Care Centres house children who have been removed from abusive situations by court order. They're wards of the state, the department has a legal responsibility to protect them. Yet delays in funding can result in inadequate food, reduced staff, and even relocation of children due to closure threats,' said Vetten. 'This constant movement, first from their families, then between Child and Youth Care Centres, undermines their ability to trust adults and form stable relationships. It's emotionally damaging. We need to start acknowledging administrative harm, harm that results from poor governance decisions like these,' she said. Calls for permanent leadership grow amid crisis Vetten traces some of the systemic breakdowns to leadership instability. The department still lacks a permanent head of department (HOD). 'This position has been acting for over a year. We need a qualified, experienced, service-oriented leader with management skills. Without that, dysfunction continues,' she said. Vetten also raised concerns about the lack of accountability for past controversies. 'There's been no public accounting for the infamous Service Level Agreement panels or the R70-million reportedly spent on an unused shelter. There are also reports about irregular payments to food banks and cooperatives. These issues have faded from public memory without proper investigation,' she said. Refiloe Nt'sekhe, a DA MPL in Gauteng, voiced concern over what she called a breakdown in the department's internal systems, describing a department caught off guard and scrambling, with restructuring and leadership gaps only worsening the delays. She highlighted the ongoing vacancy in the HOD role, calling it a major contributor to the department's dysfunction. 'Without permanent leadership, there's no accountability or coordination. If this was a well-oiled machine, timelines would've been met,' Nt'sekhe said. She added that experienced staff had been moved out of key positions without consultation, further destabilising operations. These shifts, she said, had had a direct impact on service delivery and budget execution. Of particular alarm to Nt'sekhe was the return of R102-million in unspent funds to the Treasury, money that should have gone to essential services like HIV/Aids programmes and dignity packs. 'The department says it's protecting children, but on the ground drop-in centres are underfunded, children are going hungry, and there are no real contingency plans. Three months of non-payment is too long. Vulnerable children are slipping through the cracks; it's heartbreaking,' she said. The department issued a media statement on 3 June stating that since the start of the financial year it had issued 1,640 Service Level Agreements, of which 1,424 had been signed and concluded. A remaining 216 were still outstanding, prompting the department to issue warning letters to the relevant NPOs, with a firm deadline set for the end of this week. The department has responded to media inquiries regarding unpaid NPOs, stating that while individual financial details cannot be shared publicly, affected organisations were urged to contact their respective regional offices or monitoring and evaluation officials for updates. DM
The South African
8 hours ago
- Business
- The South African
DSD briefs parliament on basic income support policy
The Department of Social Development aims to provide basic income support for citizens between the ages of 18-59. During a briefing with the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, DSD updated parliament on the progress of the development of the Basic Income Support Policy. 'Work on the policy has been ongoing, with the first draft of the policy having been presented to the Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster Cabinet Committee on 26 November 2024', said DSD spokesperson, Bathembu Futshane. The committee raised that more consultations were needed in order to discus the policy. It was further suggested that meetings should be held with internal stakeholders. The meeting would focus on the affordability of the policy and linkages of its proposed beneficiaries with economic opportunities. An interdepartmental workshop was held in order to communicate the directive of collaboration. According to Futshane, the workshop affirmed the need to link the policy's beneficiaries to other employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities. 'A follow up workshop will be held in June 2025. Followed by bilateral engagements with the Presidency, the Department of Labour and National Treasury', said Futshane. He said once the consultations are concluded, DSD will approach the SPCHD Cabinet Committee in the second Quarter of the 2025/26 financial year. They will request cabinet to consider the revised policy. Once the policy is approved, it will be published for public comments. Futshane said that in order to ensure stability during the consultation period, the department will consult National Treasury for the R370 Social Relief of Distress grant be extended. The grant will remain in place until the legislative process is complete. Beneficiaries will be protected from extreme poverty and vulnerability while they wait for the policy to come into effect. 'The Department, has for the interim, been granted an extension by the National Treasury to continue with this provision for the 2025/26 financial year', concluded Futshane. DO YOU THINK SOCIAL GRANTS ARE HELPING SOUTH AFRICANS OR ENCOURAGING A CULTURE OF LAZINESS? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Eyewitness News
10 hours ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Dept of Social Development wants SRD grant extended beyond March 2026
CAPE TOWN - The Department of Social Development wants the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to be extended beyond March 2026, despite Treasury's intentions to stop the welfare initiative. The department said this was necessary while it finalised the basic income grant policy, which has been reviewed again by the department, despite frustrations from members of Parliament (MPs). ALSO READ: - Social Development says work on Basic Income Grant policy has been ongoing - Social Development Dept's delays in formulating a Basic Income Grant policy frustrate MPs - Treasury stands firm on unaffordability of continued extension of SRD grant Department officials and Minister Sisisi Tolashe briefed the social development portfolio committee on Wednesday on the progress made in finalising the long-awaited universal grant for all poor South Africans. The basic income grant policy has been in the making for several years and aims to provide monthly financial support to citizens who qualify. The Department of Social Development told Parliament that the policy was still in the making, and it could be a year before legislation on the policy was developed. Deputy Director-General Brenda Sibeko said until such time that the basic income grant policy was finalised, the SRD grant must be extended beyond March 2026. "So, we will also, in the process of doing the legislation, need the SRD grant to continue. So, in that regard, we will ask Treasury again to extend the SRD so that there isn't a break in that income support while the policy process is underway." She said the policy would also link beneficiaries with economic opportunities so that they did not just rely on the basic income grant.
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Social Development says work on Basic Income Grant policy has been ongoing
CAPE TOWN - The Department of Social Development says work on the Basic Income Grant (BIG) policy has been ongoing, with the first draft of the policy having been presented to the Cabinet. The department briefed Parliament's Social Development portfolio committee on progress made in the development of the basic income support policy, which has the support of most parties. ALSO READ: Social Development Dept's delays in formulating a basic income grant policy frustrate MPs Cabinet has also directed that further consultations on the policy be held with other departments, focusing on the affordability of the policy and how to link proposed beneficiaries with economic opportunities and employment. The Department's deputy director-general, Brenda Sibeko, said, "So the idea is that as we finalise the policy on basic income support we're also improving on those other elements, so that people are not only going to be living on this basic income support, but there are other opportunities for them to come out of poverty beyond just relying on the grant."
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Social Development Dept's delays in formulating a basic income grant policy frustrate MPs
CAPE TOWN - Members of Parliament (MPs) have voiced their frustration at the delays in formulating a complete basic income grant policy by the Department of Social Development (DSD). The Social Development committee received a progress report from the department on Wednesday. It details how far the DSD has gone in formulating the basic income support policy, which will consolidate social support and has the support of many organisations and parties. However, the department says the policy must be approved before an amendment bill is drafted and submitted to Parliament. ALSO READ: Wealth & social security taxes could fund basic income grant in SA - study The basic income grant has been on the country's policy agenda for over 20 years, and it is still far from coming to fruition. On Wednesday, the Social Development Deputy Director General, Brenda Sibeko, told MPs that the policy has been revised again and could be approved in a year. "If the policy is approved in the current financial year, then it means that after that, we have to write the law that makes the basic income support to be a permanent income support policy like the other grants." But committee member Noluvuyo Tafeni complained about the constant reviewing of the policy. "When was the basic income grant policy proposal first made? It was about some 30 years back, and there is still no progress." The DSD says while the legislative process unfolds, it will be necessary for the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to be extended beyond March 2026.
