Johannesburg - Thousands of people dependent on non-profit organisations (NPOs) will have to fend for themselves following the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s (DSD) decision to reduce the reliance on NPOs.
The department said that the Institutional Realignment Project (IRP) will be implemented to respond to challenges it has been faced with in the partnership model it has with NPOs which has led to delayed service delivery to communities that need the services of the Department the most.
Spokesperson of the department, Feziwe Ndwayana, said they have sent a stern warning to non-profit organisations (NPOs) that do not comply or perform, that their funds will be terminated and be reprioritised to other programmes in line with the institutional realignment project.
The department said the move was necessitated by trends of intimidation and threats to the Department’s Monitoring Officials when they detect non-compliance in various NPOs and a need to reach more people.
“The current partnership model with NPOs is unsustainable because more resources are allocated to NPOs at the expense of developed state capacity. Service delivery by NPOs remains largely skewed along racial lines and in urbanised areas, and because of this fact, service delivery does not often reach those who need them the most to the extent that is required for social development to ensure that it assists all service users sufficiently,” she said.
Ndwayana added that the funding of NPOs will no longer be general but will be focused on critical service delivery areas where social development is not able to provide such internally.
“These critical areas for NPO funding will include among others the provision of adequate funding for NPO-run residential care services for older persons and persons with disabilities as well as other identified critical services such as programmes responsive to gender-based violence and femicide, the homelessness programme, community development to name a few,” said Ndwayana.
While it is unclear which NPOs have received this warning, many NPOs across Gauteng faced with challenges have weighed in on the matter. Lina Mabaso of Kgaugelo Stimulation Centre in Tembisa, which deals with cases of children living with disabilities, said while they haven’t received communication, there are many challenges they face as an NPO.
“We haven’t received any formal communication yet from the DSD but the cutting of costs on their part is the last thing you need when you face issues of resources and funding as a non-profit organisation,” she said.
Business Support Manager of the Modern Community Foundation, Dylan Mgobhozi, said the support of NPOs in this country is vital. The organisation advocates for the upliftment, upskilling and education of its beneficiaries.
“If the department is citing abuse of funds, then it means funding of NPOs is not monitored effectively. If it was, we wouldn’t find ourselves in this predicament as NPOs,” said Mgobhozi.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng spokesperson for Social Development Bronwynn Engelbrecht said the department did not give any specifics. It is unclear whether the affected NPOs have been notified and this makes it very difficult for the NGO sector to plan.
“Once again it’s typical of the department as they can now renege on any undertaking by stating that they had warned the NPOs,” she said.
Engelbrecht believes this is the department’s smokescreen to hide their inefficiencies as in the end they are responsible to monitor any NPO that has been granted funding.
“Each NPO has their dedicated monitoring official that visits monthly, so any non-compliance issues should be taken up immediately. It’s the department that is failing in its duty to NPOs,” she said.
According to the Department, Gauteng Province has 81 996 registered NPOs and 47 677 are non-compliant. Of the registered NPOs, 27 117 are registered to provide social welfare services. The Gauteng Department of Social Development has funded approximately 3 402 NPOs during the 2021/2022 financial year.