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NPO funding: Advertising delays will affect the delivery of services to the most vulnerable

The delays by the Gauteng Department of Social Development (DSD) in advertising requests for proposals and business plans for funding from the NPO sector for the 2024/25 financial year will affect the delivery of social welfare and social services to the most vulnerable residents of Gauteng.

Based on previous experience, the advertisements are issued around September each year to allow the NPOs to submit all the necessary documents and the department to process the applications within the stipulated timeframes.

This year, they only advertised the request last week. The DA is concerned that this might result in delays in completing the process and affect the first payments to NPOs: the well-being of the most vulnerable residents, who are solely dependent on NPOs for survival.

The process consists of a tender briefing session, site visits, and adjudications, among others. Once appointed, NPOs need to sign service-level agreements with the DSD before they receive any funding. This poor planning of Gauteng Social Development disorganises Gauteng NPOs: noting that NPOs that are rejected will have a very small window to seek alternative funding and in some cases may be too late to apply. This is simply not fair.

The National Department of Social Development released its request for proposals from NPOs on the 15th of August, and the Western Cape government released theirs on the 13th of September 2023.

The DA proposes that Gauteng DSD should in the future refrain from late advertising and follow the National Department of Social Development and the Western Cape to ensure that the most vulnerable residents of Gauteng are well taken care of. We will be monitoring the progress of this process to ensure that NPO payments for approved NPOs next year are not delayed.

In addition, the DA has tabled questions to the MEC for Social Development, Mbali Hlophe, to ascertain why there have been delays in advertising the requests for proposals.

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DA to assess temporary shelters for Marshalltown fire survivors

Tomorrow, Friday, 13 October 2023, the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL, and the DA’s Shadow Minister for Social Development, Bridget Masango MP, will conduct an oversight inspection at the MES Impilo Centre and Bezvalley Community Centre.

The Marshalltown fire survivors were moved to temporary shelters at MES Impilo Centre and Bezvalley Community Centre.

The DA will assess the current living conditions at these shelters and establish whether the victims have received relief grants.

The DA has received numerous complaints from the survivors claiming that they have not yet received relief grants as promised by Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu.

The DA will engage with the survivors to ascertain the challenges they are facing.

Members of the media are invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

Details of the oversight inspection are as follows:

Date: 13 October 2023

Oversight Inspection One:
Venue: MES Impilo Centre, 353 Main St, Fairview, Johannesburg, 2094.
Time: 10:0

Oversight Inspection Two:
Venue: Bezvalley Community Centre
Time: 11:00

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DA to picket outside Garankuwa Court in support of a 70-year-old rape victim

On Monday, 28 August 2023, the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL, the DA Tshwane Ward 24 Councillor, Cllr Thabisile Vilakazi, and the DA activists will picket outside the Garankuwa Magistrate Court D and attend court proceedings to support a 70-year-old rape victim.

Gogo Elizabeth Dliwayo was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 22-year-old man in July 2023.

Women and children’s lives are at risk due to the high number of sexual crimes reported in Gauteng.

The crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year indicate 146 rapes in domestic violent crimes, and an overall total of 1 910 rapes occurred between April and June in Gauteng.

Members of the media are invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

Details of the event are as follows:

Date: 28 August 2023
Venue: Garankuwa Magistrate Court
Time: 09:00

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R258 million unallocated funding leaves beneficiaries of 172 NPOs without social welfare services

The Gauteng Department of Social Development’s (DSD) failure to allocate R258 million has left thousands of NPO beneficiaries without much-needed social welfare services and support.

DSD attributes the non-payment of the funds to the non-compliance of the NPOs, including the contravention of municipal laws, lapsed registration certificates, and being located in un-proclaimed land.

Many of these NPOs have about 100 to 300 beneficiaries and are now suffering due to a lack of funding.

Despite the non-compliance of these NPOs, the DA believes that DSD must implement a stringent plan to absorb beneficiaries to ensure there is no service interruption.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Mbali Hlophe, in a written reply to the DA’s questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

Currently, the department claims that beneficiaries of these NPOs are being redirected to compliant NPOs, but no additional funding has been allocated to those NPOs.

MEC Hlophe has not been clear about what will happen to the unallocated R258 million.

Furthermore, there has been no communication on whether the employees of the non-compliant NPOs will be moved to the compliant NPOs.

The DA is concerned that the lack of funding for NPOs will have dire consequences for older persons, persons with disabilities, children, and HIV/AIDS beneficiaries.

The DA demands that MEC Hlophe fast-track the distribution of additional funds and staff to the complaint NPOs to avoid compromising the quality of care and services to the beneficiaries. The MEC must ensure that beneficiaries who have been moved to compliant NPOs have access to all services they have been receiving from their previous NPOs.

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DA to picket outside Tembisa Rabasotho SAPS against increasing rape cases

Today, Wednesday, 9 August 2023, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Political Head for Tembisa South, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL and the DA Ekurhuleni Shadow MMC for Community Safety, Cllr Jaco Terblanche, will lead a picket outside the Tembisa Rabasotho SAPS in Tembisa.

This follows the recent fourth quarter crime statistics for the 2022/23 financial year, which revealed that Tembisa Rabasotho SAPS is ranked number six nationally for rape cases reported.

The DA will hand over a memorandum to the station commander, demanding that he address the rape crimes in Tembisa. We will also be picketing outside the police station in support of all rape victims, survivors, women, and children living in Tembisa.

The members of the media are invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

The details of the oversight inspections are as follows:

Date: 9 August 2023
Venue: Tembisa, Rabasotho SAPS, 244 Andrew Mpheto Drive, Oqgaqga Section.
Time: 10:00-11:00

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DA to picket outside Tembisa Rabasotho SAPS against increasing rape cases

Tomorrow, Wednesday, 9 August 2023, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Political Head for Tembisa South, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL and the DA Ekurhuleni Shadow MMC for Community Safety, Cllr Jaco Terblanche, will lead a picket outside the Tembisa Rabasotho SAPS in Tembisa.

This follows the recent fourth quarter crime statistics for the 2022/23 financial year, which revealed that Tembisa Rabasotho SAPS is ranked number six nationally for rape cases reported.

The DA will hand over a memorandum to the station commander, demanding that he address the rape crimes in Tembisa. We will also be picketing outside the police station in support of all rape victims, survivors, women, and children living in Tembisa.

The members of the media are invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

The details of the oversight inspections are as follows:

Date: 9 August 2023
Venue: Tembisa, Rabasotho SAPS, 244 Andrew Mpheto Drive, Oqgaqga Section.
Time: 10:00-11:00

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Gauteng Social Development must reinstate NPO funding to save lives

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng supports the calls made by NPOs during a picket this week demanding the reinstatement of funding. They demand payment for all complaint NPOs, and the department must outline how they plan to take over beneficiaries of non-compliant NPOs.

Earlier this year, many NPOs had funds taken away from them and diverted to the substance abuse and poverty alleviation programmes in the Department of Social Development.

This has had dire consequences for many NPOs that provide critical services to the vulnerable in the community. Many had to close their doors because they did not have sufficient funding to continue paying their staff and rendering services to their beneficiaries.

During the picket, the NPOs demanded that their funding be backdated to April 2023. This is vital if the operations of the NPOs are to continue without interruptions. Premier Lesufi promised to pay NPOs, and staff resumed their work hoping to receive funding.

Earlier this year, the DA demanded that the Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Mbali Hlophe, and her department assist NPOs in becoming compliant.

According to the department, non-compliance meant not complying with the following acts, depending on the sector the NPO operates in:
1. NPO Act;
2. Children Act;
3. Older Person’s Act, depending on the sector involvement of each NPO;
4. Municipal By-Laws;
5. Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

The DA will continue to engage with the Department of Social Development and the MEC on issues of NPO compliance. We will not allow the vulnerable residents of Gauteng to suffer because the government has cut NPO funding without a proper explanation and failed to assist NPOs in becoming compliant.

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Newly appointed Gauteng DSD HOD not fit for the job due to damning findings

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is appalled by the appointment of Matilda Gasela as the new Head of Department (HOD) for the Gauteng Department of Social Development (DSD), despite damning findings in her previous job.

We believe this is not a well-thought-out decision and it will negatively affect the department instead of fixing the several issues faced by DSD.

Gasela is the former Head of Department for the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment (GDARD), where she was implicated in financial mismanagement.

Despite the Special Investigative Unit’s (SIU) recommendations that she be criminally prosecuted, Premier Panyaza Lesufi and the Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Mbali Hlophe, promoted her to head a significant department.

The DA is disappointed that the Premier and MEC promoted a person with such damning findings against her.

Gasela’s appointment exposes how the current government is not serious about fighting corruption; instead, they are shielding their corrupt cadres at the expense of service delivery.

DSD needs ethical leaders who will stabilise and advise the Premier and MEC on the acts governing the NPO sectors and the department in terms of looking after the most vulnerable members of the province.

The department is struggling to disentangle itself from the mess it created with the funding of NPOs after reprioritising funds. A compromised and financially incompetent Gasela will not assist the department in fixing this mess.

The DA demands that the Premier and MEC reconsider this appointment and appoint an individual who has a clean record and is not subject to a possible criminal investigation. We will also be tabling questions to the Premier to determine why other candidates were not considered for this crucial position.

Furthermore, we will demand an explanation from the Premier of why Gasela has not been fired, blacklisted, or prosecuted.

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DA to conduct oversight inspections at Inxiweni and Silwerkroon Old Age Home in Ekurhuleni

Today, Thursday, 29 June 2023, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Shadow MEC for Human Settlements, Mervyn Cirota MPL, the DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Human Settlements, Evert Du Plessis MPL, the DA Shadow MEC for Social Development, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL and Cllr Philip Thanahane, will be conducting an oversight inspection at the Inxiweni RDP houses in Tembisa and the Silwerkroon Old Age Home in Alberton.

The Silwerkroon Old Age Home is currently not fully utilised. Eight rooms are standing empty due to a lack of funds to pay for the painting and maintenance of these rooms. In addition, the residents who are currently housed at the old age home do not have their needs attended to and have not received a visit from a social worker in two years.

In Inxiweni, residents have been waiting for title deeds since 2009. According to the Department of Human Settlements, the land on which the RDP walk-up flats have been built has not been subdivided. This means that title deeds cannot be issued, despite the department promising residents that they would start issuing title deeds after our oversight inspection last year.

The media is invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

Details of the oversight inspections are as follows:

Oversight inspection 1

Date: 29 June 2023
Time: 10:00
Location: Silwerkroon Old Age Home, Alberton

Oversight inspection 2

Date: 29 June 2023
Time: 11:00
Location: Inxiweni, Tembisa

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DA to conduct oversight inspections at Inxiweni and Silwerkroon Old Age Home in Ekurhuleni

Tomorrow, Thursday, 29 June 2023, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Shadow MEC for Human Settlements, Mervyn Cirota MPL, the DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Human Settlements, Evert Du Plessis MPL, and the DA Shadow MEC for Social Development, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL, will be conducting an oversight inspection at the Inxiweni RDP houses in Tembisa and the Silwerkroon Old Age Home in Alberton.

The Silwerkroon Old Age Home is currently not fully utilised. Eight rooms are standing empty due to a lack of funds to pay for the painting and maintenance of these rooms. In addition, the residents who are currently housed at the old age home do not have their needs attended to and have not received a visit from a social worker in two years.

In Inxiweni, residents have been waiting for title deeds since 2009. According to the Department of Human Settlements, the land on which the RDP walk-up flats have been built has not been subdivided. This means that title deeds cannot be issued, despite the department promising residents that they would start issuing title deeds after our oversight inspection last year.

The media is invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

Details of the oversight inspections are as follows:

Oversight inspection 1

Date: 29 June 2023
Time: 10:00
Location: Silwerkroon Old Age Home, Alberton

Oversight inspection 2
Date: 29 June 2023
Time: 11:00
Location: Inxiweni, Tembisa