Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development has come under fire for failing to budget for an increase in its grants to private welfare organisations.
Members of the finance portfolio committee were irked when this emerged during the tabling of the department’s 2015/16 budget plan in the legislature this week.
MPLs were concerned that a directive from Finance MEC Belinda Scott’s to ring-fence 6 percent – more than R150 million – of its budget for increases for NGOs contracted to it, had not been obeyed. The department’s total budget is R2.630 billion.
Although considerable sums were allocated in the budget to various programmes, no mention was made of increases for the NGOs.
Committee member and chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), Maggie Govender, questioned why an increase for NGOs had not been budgeted for.
In her budget speech last week, Scott gave a directive to the department to better support NGOs who provide social welfare services.
Said Govender: “I still need an explanation... The MEC announced that 6 percent of the budget should be ring-fenced to accommodate NGOs. These NGOs work in our communities providing social welfare services to the old and sick, including other social welfare duties.
“Those are government duties done by these NGOs, and they don’t get payment increases. When they don’t get increases they can’t provide their employees with decent wages, and when that happens, the employees leave them. People complain about the poor services, yet they don’t look at what could be the underlying factor to that,” Govender said.
The NGOs have not received increases for about four years.
Portfolio committee chairman, Sipho K K Nkosi, said the Social Development budget would not be approved unless the 6 percent was made available as per MEC Scott’s pronouncement.
“It is recorded that 6 percent of the budget should be ring-fenced. We want clarity on what happened to the 6 percent and how they plan to make it available for the vulnerable and poor. We can’t approve that budget without the money,” said Nkosi.
He said Social Development had two options: to reprioritise their budget to find this 6 percent, or the department head could engage the treasury head to talk about how they could make this money available.
“We won’t compromise the welfare of the vulnerable who should be cared for by the government,” he said.
In the 2014/15 financial year, NGOs were allocated about R400m, which was to be increased by the 6 percent in 2015/16.
Department head, Nokuthula Khanyile, told the committee that the department had been experiencing budget constraints, and that they didn’t have the money in question. She said she would consult her MEC, Weziwe Thusi, and senior team to find a solution.
A spokesman for NGO, Pietermaritzburg District Association for the Care for the Aged, said: “The problem with the department not factoring in the increase to NGOs is limiting the services we render.
“We are very disappointed because some of the NGOs end up retrenching staff because of the lack of finance.”
Dr Imran Keeka, DA MPL, said the overall budget cuts and exclusion of the 6 percent in question would have a devastating impact on the rollout of vital social welfare services.
“This will result in many vital NGOs becoming financially unsustainable and shutting their doors. Wednesday’s announcements further emphasise the rift that exists within KZN’s provincial cabinet. It is clear these two MEC’s (Scott and Thusi) do not communicate with each other. While Scott made one cabinet decision in her budget, Thusi sees it as unnecessary to enforce this decision - all to the detriment of the poverty-stricken people of this province,” said Keeka.
Meanwhile Khanyile, told the committee that the 119 vacant posts in various sections of the department would be filled from the beginning of next month, and that appointment letters had been issued to some of the successful candidates.
Daily News