SPCA needs help from government

The amazing work the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) carries out daily cannot be praised enough.

The SPCA, a nonprofit organisation, states its objective is to serve and protect all animals, to uplift their welfare and to ensure that the protection they have under SA law is upheld. In short, it helps animals that are unable to help themselves. We live in tough economic times – and the SPCA is not immune to this.

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The Tshwane SPCA, which consists of two branches with just five inspectors and covers an area of about 6 200km2, is battling to keep its head above water, accruing more than R1 million in debt.

Director of Tshwane SPCA Jeanine Niemann-Greatorex said: “Money is always an issue. We are a nonprofit organisation (NPO) that is not funded by the state or the municipality, so we need to generate our own funds.”

After having their electricity cut off yet again after no solution to a billing dispute – they are billed as a property in an industrial area, not as a NPO – they had no choice but to install a solar system, bought with funds not allocated for this, to keep running.

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Niemann-Greatorex said: “We couldn’t carry on paying (Tshwane) for an account that was billed incorrectly and every time we had to pay the reconnection fees. For the past 25 years, we have not been billed correctly. It adds up to a lot of money that we don’t have, or money allocated for other things. It’s a vicious circle.”

Even though Tshwane municipality is working with the SPCA to sort the billing mess out, time does not stop for anyone.

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There are many more NPOs that are facing equal struggles and debt. Local and national government needs to do more to help them do what they do best – protect the vulnerable.