NPOs left in dire straits after empty promises

Department reneges on funds commitment

NON-PROFIT organisations have again been left in serious financial trouble by the Eastern Cape Department of Social Development as officials failed to pay subsidies for the new financial year by the end of May.

A promise to do so was made by the provincial head of the department, Ntombi Baart, during an interview with The Herald on May 23, and also in a memorandum sent to the NPO sector in the province.

In the memorandum, Baart said officials were experiencing “immense technical glitches” with the new system and had to revert to the old system.

“This serves to advise the NPO sector to expect payment of April, May and June, from May 24 to 31.

“The department is committed to improving and strengthening its working relations with the NPO sector.

“To this end any situation that seeks to derail the department in achieving that is taken seriously,” she said.

Attempts to obtain comment yesterday from the department were not successful.

The DA’s Kobus Botha said he had asked newly appointed Social Development MEC Dr Phumza Dyantyi to fast-track the recruitment process to fill the vacant posts in the newly established Non-Profit Organisation Unit if she wanted to make a serious attempt to get her department out of its state of paralysis.

He said the NPO Unit was established by Dyantyi’s predecessor, Nancy Sihlwayi, at a cost of R118-million, with 10 officials working in a head office and 1 647 positions for staff.

The unit’s purpose was to strengthen working relationships with NPOs. He said the unit had 1 521 vacant posts.

“Various NPO operations were disrupted during the 2017-18 financial year when the department unceremoniously implemented extreme budget cuts,” Botha said.

“In addition, the department has an annual battle to timeously process large volumes of business plans, funding allocation letters and service-level agreements. “These delays place severe financial distress on the more than 2 100 NPOs that render various social services on behalf of the department to the most vulnerable and poor in our province.”

Unless the posts in the new unit were filled, it would not have any positive impact on alleviating NPO frustrations with the department, Botha said.

Various NPOs working with children and the elderly in the Bay yesterday confirmed that despite the promise by Baart, they still had not been paid.

Maureen Andreka, from the Algoa Bay Council for the Aged, said she wrote “again” to the district office in Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday, informing it no subsidies had been paid.

Jonathan Walton, chairman of the volunteer management committee at the Mckaiser Old Age Home in Grahamstown, said it had also not received its subsidies.

Magda van Solms, director of social services at the Christelike Maatskaplike Raad – which looks after vulnerable children and families, said it was also still waiting for payment and was under great strain as a result.