Vulnerable Gauteng residents continue to suffer as DSD cuts NPO funding by R400 million

18 March 2024

Gauteng NPOs and their beneficiaries face a bleak future after the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) reduced the Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) budget by R400 million from the main appropriation budget of R2.30 billion in the 2023/2024 financial year to R1.96 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year.

The department’s budget has also decreased from R5.5 billion in the 2023/2024 financial year to R5.4 billion in the 2024/2025 budget.

This information was revealed in the 2024/2025 Estimates of Provincial Revenue and Expenditure presented by Gauteng MEC for Finance, Jacob Mamabolo, during the provincial budget speech.

This is a double blow to Gauteng's NPO sector, as the GDSD has also failed to adjudicate the business plans of NPOs whose funding expires on 31 March 2024.

The slashing of funding intended to assist NPOs that are performing and increasing funding to NPOs that have not been performing does not make sense. It demonstrates the current government's lack of accountability, foresight and insensitivity to the needs and plight of our province's most vulnerable residents.

Last year, the department ambushed NPOs by wanting to reprioritise funds without consulting them. Only after intensive negotiations initiated by welfare organisations supported by the Democratic Alliance (DA) was this decision reversed. However, it appears that the department learned nothing from this regrettable event. The department should have realised that NPOs are partners, and funding them is not a favour but a need for the most vulnerable residents.

Budget cuts will force some NGOs to shut down since they won't be able to pay salaries to their employees and render services as a result. Beneficiaries and NPO staff will be left stranded, as the department cannot take them over.

It is time for the people of Gauteng to understand that they have the power to appoint or remove a government with their vote. On 29 May 2024, they can choose a government that alienates NPOs, staff, and beneficiaries or opt for a DA government that respects NPOs as genuine government partners. A DA government that understands that NPOs reach communities that the government cannot and that funding NPOs is not a mere favour but a benefit for the most vulnerable residents. A DA government that sees NPOs as an extension of government fully deserving to be consulted and heard when there are adjustments to the department's overall budget.

Issued by Refiloe Nt’sekhe, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development, 18 March 2024