Don’t jump the gun, charities cautioned
THE Independent on Saturday approached KwaZulu-Natal MEC for the Department of Social Development, Weziwe Thusi, to clarify the issue:
1 Are subsidies being cut to NPOs in KwaZulu-Natal at the end of September – if so, by how much and how many NPOs will be affected? No. 2 With regard to specialised services, does the department have the necessary people with the skills in place to replace any NPOs which may have to shut down?
The department now has social workers for every ward in the province and two social workers for bigger wards.
3 Historically, has it been the NPOs responsibility to fund themselves or has the department always subsidised the sector?
Historically, NPOs in South Africa receive most of their funding from foreign donors. Post-1994 a larger portion of funding from foreign donors was shifted to the democratic government. The government then played the role of disbursing funds to NPOs. In terms of the policy on financial awards and the standard operating procedure on transfer payments, a portion of NPOs providing non-statutory services can be exited from government funding.
4 Do you think subsidisation has to change, in that NPOs should become financially independent? No response given. 5 Do you think there is corruption within the NPO sector? Does an NPO have to provide a clean audit before receiving a subsidy from the department?
I cannot comment on corruption. What I can say is that during the monitoring and evaluation process some NPOs have been found to have dysfunctional governance structures, under-paying staff in contravention of the approved business plans. Others are failing to submit financial and narrative reports and utilising funds for purposes other than those outlined in the service level agreements and business plans.
6 Is the KZN Department of Social Development in financial difficulty?
Please refer to budget speeches by the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan and MEC for Finance in the Province Belinda Scott, who both addressed the financial situation in the country as a whole, not just the Department of Social Development.
7 Any other comment you would like to include?
We request that the NPOs not to jump the gun. To allow the process to unfold and reach its natural conclusion before making sweeping statements about what they think the department is doing. The NPOs that called the press conference you refer to represent a small fraction in KwaZulu-Natal. The majority are represented by the NPO Forum.