Mystery of adjudication panels
The Gauteng department of social development (DSD) has put aside over R15 million to fund new independent panels that will adjudicate grant applications. But the process of appointing the panels has been shrouded in secrecy.
GroundUp and civil society organisations have been unable to get any information about the panels, or even whether they have already been appointed.
And the DSD diverted the money from a programme meant to supply dignity packs for women. This, it said, was because the funds “will not be spent in full due to the late finalisation of procurement processes”.
It had anticipated that the tender for dignity packs would “possibly” be appointed in the fourth quarter (ending 31 March).
Some of the diverted funding will also be used to pay for “tools of the trade” for Gauteng’s Youth Brigades, whose members work as teacher assistants.
An additional R83.4 million was diverted from other areas of the social service budget to cover the appointment of the Youth Brigades and contract workers, who are part of the Gauteng government’s flagship Nasi iSpani Mass Recruitment Programme.
According to a note in Gauteng’s 2023-24 adjusted estimates of revenue and expenditure, “the goods and services budget decreased by R56 million, mainly due to reprioritisation of funds from the provision of dignity packs.”
With the DSD financial year ending on 31 March, nonprofit organisations (NPOs) dependent on the department’s funding have grown increasingly worried about the lack of transparency around the panels. They’re concerned delays could have a profound effect on NPOs, many of which are struggling to survive, as are the people that depend on them.
An analysis for the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee of the 2024-25 budget by Lisa Vetten, a research associate at Wits University’s Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, shows a R223-million cut in services to vulnerable people, compared to the previous financial year.
“This latest development mirrors the crisis of 2023-24 when the [national] DSD attempted to slash R417.6 million from the budget earmarked for social care services, inciting widespread protests from NPOs,” the committee stated.
In responds to GroundUp’s questions, the DSD failed to say if the panels have been appointed. Instead, a spokesperson quoted a paragraph from a media release: “The Gauteng [DSD} has called on NPOs to be patient, as it finalises the investigation and the adjudication of applications for the next financial year.”