Gauteng’s vulnerable left in limbo as nonprofits fight for survival

Gauteng’s nonprofit sector is on the brink of collapse, according to dozens of organisations (NPOs), crippled by severe funding challenges that have forced many to shut down, retrench staff or downscale operations.

The imploding social development funding crisis has been described as a threat to thousands of Gauteng’s most vulnerable.

Social development department blamed

Lisa Vetten, chair of the Gauteng care crisis committee, blamed the department of social development.

“What we are watching unfold is horrible. It’s unforgivable,” she said. “The sector has been trying to engage with them since June last year, about what is going to happen.

“There were no responses to correspondence. There was no task team established to take anything forward.”

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The committee, which represents more than 60 NPOs in the province, said at least 30 000 beneficiaries in the disability sector alone were at risk of losing services, while hundreds of NPOs and thousands of beneficiaries had been left in limbo.

Government slashed budget and withdrew funding

Last year, the Gauteng government slashed budgets and withdrew funding from more than 100 NPOs. These organisations were accused of not aligning with the department’s annual mandate, failing to comply with legislation or had not met other criteria.

The crisis deepened when the budget for NPOs was cut from R2.4 billion to R1.96 billion.

“It’s the second year in a row we are experiencing hardship at the hands of the department,” said Vetten. “Trust between NGOs and the department has been badly damaged.”

It had also caused trauma for the beneficiaries.

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“Rebuilding that is going to take a very long time.”

Lesufi promised to intervene

Premier Panyaza Lesufi on Monday promised to ask Treasury to intervene to reinstate a R2.4 billion budget.

However, Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development programme manager Sima Diar, who is also affiliated with the National Shelter Movement of South Africa, said this was yet another superficial gesture.

There were a limited number of shelters, Diar said.

Of the 23 shelters on their database, 22 had confirmed they had not received any communication from the Gauteng department regarding funding.

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“As a result of the lack of communication and commitment to funding shelters, there is a low intake of clients.”

“Survivors” were being turned away from shelters and people were taking some in, but “this is not sustainable, is potentially dangerous, and there are no services rendered to the survivor to assist with healing”, she told The Citizen.

‘Second Life Esidimeni tragedy’

Epilepsy Gauteng director Aileen Langley painted a bleak picture and described the unfolding crisis as a second Life Esidimeni tragedy.

She highlighted starvation and neglect as some of the worst fears in care centres.

“The last six weeks have been devastating. If the department does not continue funding NPOs, another Life Esidimeni tragedy is going to happen.

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“We are halfway through the quarter with no subsidy.

“Our staff have been coming to work without salaries… By next week our power will most likely be cut off. We can’t pay the food bills anymore,” she said.

Forensic audits of several programmes began last October, after Lesufi pledged to eradicate corruption from the department, led by Matilda Gasela.

Corruption allegations

According to GroundUp, Gasela faces corruption allegations linked to her tenure at the agriculture and rural development department and before then, at human settlements.

Vetten slammed the new systems, saying they had made the sector chaotic and confused.

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“Audits of hundreds of organisations are not quick. They started everything far too late and they’ve created strange processes and procedures nobody understands except a small group in the provincial office.

“In fact, their attempt to clean up corruption in some ways has come at the most terrible cost, at the most terrible human cost, and almost at the cost of collapsing the sector.”