NPOs voice concerns over budget cuts

The Department of Social Development (DSD) office in the Ekurhuleni Region came to a standstill as NPOs across the region demonstrated against the budget cut for NPOs, at 40 Catlin Street, Germiston, on April 12.

According to the children sector under Civil Society Forum sector leader Zodwa Latola, the department informed them of the changes on April 5, during the budget speech of the MEC for Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mbali Hlophe, at Gallagher Estate, Midrand.

Latola rejected the budget, citing that they did not consult with NPOs.

“The DSD says they are redirecting the funds to a sustainable livelihood because the country should be developmental instead of depending on the government,” Latola explained.

“You cannot do that overnight. How many projects failed in agriculture when they gave out money to people to start businesses? They all collapsed and now they are doing the same thing again.

“First, you have to empower people. How do you say to unemployed people and poverty-stricken communities that you are now on your own?”

She emphasised the MEC is a public administrator. She knows the procedures of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) and was supposed to conduct proper consultations with the people who stand to be affected by the projects she wants to implement.

Latola explained most of the organisations are affected as DSD funded them.

The new financial year has started normally, by this time service level agreements should have been signed, but the MEC called a meeting for all NPOs providing social and welfare services in Gauteng after the financial year had started.

In that meeting, she presented the 2023/24 NPO budget reprioritisation on April 5, she added.

“The budget reprioritisation implies that 52 per cent of the budget will be cut for NPOs. That is why we are here today. When she cuts the budget, she is not only cutting off NPOs but the services we provide. We provide food parcels and cooked meals.”

She said a budget cut means some NPOs will close doors and when that happens, where is the DSD expecting people to go?

“Vulnerable children, and people living with disabilities and HIV need food to continue taking their treatment.”
David Bida, the chairperson of CSF, said they previously proposed to the DSD to increase their funding for NPOs to assist with the surge of drugs.

“If you go to any township, we are crying about our young children who are on drugs. Many available NPOs can provide psychosocial services if they can get the funding,” Bida noted.

“Now they are saying they will create a place to rehabilitate drug addicts. This is according to the premier, Panyaza Lesufi. But I questioned where they would get the budget because, at this point, existing NPOs have budget constraints.”

He said the DSD is taking food out of people’s mouths, citing that these changes would affect beneficiaries and the communities that they serve, hence it was vital for DSD to consult them.

“We are the people on the ground. The MEC and department officials are up there. We could have advised them on the approach, but they are not engaging us.”

Various NPOs from Vosloorus, Zonkizizwe, Thokoza, Katlehong, Kwa-Thema, Duduza, Springs and Tembisa joined the Children Sector Civil Society Forum (CSCSF), which is the regional structure, to hand over a memorandum of demands.

Andile Mtshali from Mduduzi Memorial Organisation explained their engagement with the DSD is a partnership in terms of a stakeholder relationship governed by the Public Finance Management Act and the PAJA Act that represent the constituency in the form of the poor, vulnerable and marginalised children who are living beyond bread line.

Mtshali said the memorandum represents over 1 500 families that will be directly affected.

“The department is taking away funds meant to look after the holistic welfare of all communities across the spectrum to prioritise one program, which is substance and drug abuse.”

He said by doing so, the department is throwing families that are looking after the same drug addicts into a dark pit and dismantling the support structure that is enjoyed by these families.

“When you have rehabilitated the people, where will they go? Are you going to institutionalise them or are you going to throw them in jail or isolate them? You are throwing them back into the same poverty.”

Mtshali noted they are rejecting the policy review, citing that DSD should come to the table and find the best working solution.

“We are part of the solution. You cannot give an approach that you find in your escapades visiting overseas communities, without understanding the issues. Where is the white paper that informed this decision? Have you done research?

“We have statistics and reports of the impact we have through our work. We can argue this by taking these stats to the treasury to account for the work we do.”

He explained this decision also affects the youth because the people who are getting a stipend from the programs are no longer going to earn anything, resulting in the escalation of poverty, crime and drugs.

“The same government announced a minimum wage of R3 500 for workers but we remain disadvantaged because our stipends are below that minimum living wage. We are not contracted and do not have any benefits.”

He said their organisation has a staff of 35 people, and each has a minimum of seven family members to care for. They are currently getting a stipend of R2 398 each. Should that amount be reduced by 50 per cent the employees will not be able to survive.

Bob Thimane, the manager of Thokoza-based NPO Siyaqhkaza, said he does not know where his organisation stands or whether they will get contracts this year.

“We do not know what is going to happen. Our centre employs a lot of people, who, although they were not getting a minimum wage, were able to feed their families,” said Thimane.

He said they are a small NPO compared to others. They only cater for about 100 beneficiaries from seven primary schools and five high schools in Thokoza.

“Those people will expect to get a meal at the centre after school but that is not going to happen until the DSD clarifies our position.”

Mofokeng Koloti, executive director and centre manager of Paballo ya Bana from Katlehong, said the department is failing the community and itself because employees of the department have full salaries and benefits.

But they do not budget for the NPO employees, despite NPOs giving the DSD their full commitment because they work five days a week and weekends, depending on programs.

“A lot of families and beneficiaries are going to lose because we have to close the organisation. We also have palliative members of the community that we help through a support group and if we stop, it means 72 adult beneficiaries are likely to elapse,” said Koloti.

Memorandum of Understanding

The MOU read as follows:

The Gauteng NPOs only learnt with shock, on April 5 at Gallagher Estate, Midrand, the DSD is cutting down funding for NPOs.

The 2023/24 NPO budget reprioritisation was presented to NPOs with clear intentions from the DSD MEC of not planning to engage the NPOs as they have already decided on cutting NPO funding. This will result in the closing down of more than 4 000 NPOs in Gauteng who are providing social services to our poverty-stricken communities.

Such a stunt implies that our government is again showing us it is failing the poor and vulnerable by being reactive and acting in haste to implement an idea that is not well constructed for implementation, as they usually do.

It again shows there is no smooth transitioning plan for the DSD to provide social welfare services that were provided by the NPOs. The MEC claims the reprioritisation of the budget is to build our communities from welfare systems to developmental ones.

Therefore, as NPOs, we are rejecting this budget reprioritisation and we put forward our demands:

1 We strongly condemn the decision by the MEC Department of Social Development to cut down on organizations.

2 We demand that this uncalled-for and inhumane decision be reversed within seven days.

3 We demand NPOs be engaged by DSD in fair and equal participation in the processes of consultation to reach the budget reprioritisation decision.

Conclusion: The MEC referred to NPOs as ‘interested bodies’, therefore as interested bodies we are calling for the province of Gauteng to rise and we will eventually call for the nation to rise. A government cannot be a government by itself, for itself without the involvement of civil society.

The MOU was received and signed by the DSD Ekurhuleni regional director Phumla Nkosi on behalf of DSD.
She said as per the request from the NPOs, they will take the MOU to the office of the MEC and she hopes the department will engage the NPOs.

Kathrous MAIL contacted the DSD head of communications Motsamai Motlhaolwa and the MEC’s spokesperson Nkosana Mtolo for comment on April 20. The MAIL could not get a comment at the time we went to print.