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Gauteng Social Development Department returns R102m to Treasury while NPOs await critical funding

Gauteng Social Development Department returns R102m to Treasury while NPOs await critical funding
Takudzwa Pongweni
By Takudzwa Pongweni
5 Jun 2025
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Despite promises and paperwork, numerous Gauteng non-profit organisations are still waiting for vital funding from the provincial Department of Social Development, three months into the financial year. Homes for abused children, youth care centres, and disability support organisations say they’re on the verge of collapse, with staff unpaid and children going without essentials.

On a chilly winter morning in Gauteng, staff at a small community shelter unlock the doors with more uncertainty than hope. Food supplies are running low, electricity bills are piling up, and many caregivers haven’t been paid in weeks. Still, they serve meals and provide critical care to the province’s most vulnerable. But one question hangs over every effort: How much longer can they keep going?

As of June, dozens of NGOs across Gauteng have gone three months without funding from the provincial Department of Social Development. This financial freeze threatens essential services that support thousands, including children, the elderly, abuse survivors, and people with disabilities. The Gauteng Care Crisis Committee said a closer look at just 11 affected NGOs revealed a grim reality: services for nearly 2,834 people were at risk.

Among those hardest hit are Jacaranda Kinderhuis and Louis Botha Children’s Home, two of Gauteng’s largest child and youth care centres, together sheltering more than 250 children. Charlene Grobbelaar, the CEO of both facilities, said the consequences of the department’s inaction were devastating.

“We have stopped all services except the basic needs. We cut down expenditure to the bone, using what little reserve funds we had. Those are now depleted. We have 122 staff and 300 children between the two centres. It’s not just 122 individuals who are suffering, it’s 122 families,” she said. 

Silence from the top


Beyond the financial strain, organisations are also grappling with a frustrating lack of communication from the department. 

Despite submitting all required documentation on time, including compliance with new regulations like the J7 38 form (verifying staff are not listed on the sexual offenders register), the organisations have faced weeks of silence. 

“Honestly, I hate to say it but this year, it’s the truth: the system is failing our children. It’s Child Protection Week, the irony of our government not protecting the most vulnerable… They’re suffering the most. If you’re not even paying the subsidy, how can you say you’re protecting children? That’s not fair,” she said. 

The emotional toll is evident.

“You can see it, people are stressed, on edge, running on fumes. Children pick up on everything. Everyone’s trying their best, don’t get me wrong, but I can see it in their faces. Our vision is to raise empowered enablers, but right now, no one feels empowered,” she said. 

Grobbelaar emphasised that their centres had met all obligations set out in their Service Level Agreement with the department.

“When you take a job, you and your employer sign a contract that sets expectations. That’s what a Service Level Agreement is. We give 100%. We have a multidisciplinary team. We’re professional, committed. Our service is good. I’m proud of it, we deliver real care,” she said. 

“But here we are, not being paid. Tomorrow, the Auditor-General is coming and I have to ask: With what money were we supposed to care for these children over the past two months?”

Delays undermine quality care for vulnerable children


Sam Mokgopha from Kids Haven said delays had tangible impacts on service delivery. The organisation has capacity for 176 children across two campuses and employs 94 staff members. The children range in age from four to 18 years, though care can be extended to 21 for those who are still in school.

“Funding goes towards everything — food, transport for children, electricity, water, and salaries for staff including social workers. If there’s no money, these basic needs go unmet. Operations get affected, and we can’t deliver the quality care the children deserve,” he said. 

Mokgopha emphasised that many children’s homes, especially those without financial reserves, were severely affected. 

“Many NGOs are in crisis, and in places like Pretoria some still haven’t received any payments at all,” he said. 

When asked about communication with the department, Mokgopha said there was always a mismatch between what the department communicated and what actually happened on the ground. 

“Even when timelines are shared, payments are still delayed. The gap between policy and practice is wide,” he said. 

He was especially critical of the disconnect between public messaging and operational reality.

“It’s ironic that the department speaks about working together to protect vulnerable children, yet delays in funding directly harm those very children. If we really believe in child protection, we must ensure the systems that support it are properly funded and functional,” he said. 

Mokgopha urged the full implementation of the Sector Funding Policy, a national framework that sets clear timelines for signing Service Level Agreements, disbursing funds, and reporting. He said that if the policy were properly followed, organisations would know exactly when to expect funding, removing the annual uncertainty and anxiety that peaked every April and May. 

Deliberate bureaucratic delays


Lisa Vetten, the chairperson of the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee, criticised what she described as deliberate delays and chronic mismanagement by the department.

“This is the second year in a row they’ve returned unspent funds to the Treasury that were meant for NPOs. Last year, it was around R230-million. This year, it’s R102-million. After all the protests and promises, especially the Premier’s pledge to restore funding, this money still wasn’t spent,” she said. 

Exacerbating the situation, Vetten said, was the fact that many organisations were still running on 2022/2023 budgets with no adjustments for inflation or cost of living. 

The department’s insistence on compliance from NGOs stands in sharp contrast to its own conduct, with Vetten highlighting the department’s failure to sign contracts, delayed payments, and the money that was returned to the Treasury.

“When provinces underspend, the Treasury allocates them less money the following year. So the Department of Social Development’s failure to manage its funds properly could jeopardise future budgets, further threatening services to vulnerable groups,” she said. 

The delays are occurring during Child Protection Week, a time when the department has intensified messaging around safeguarding children.

“It’s deeply concerning. Child and Youth Care Centres house children who have been removed from abusive situations by court order. They’re wards of the state, the department has a legal responsibility to protect them. Yet delays in funding can result in inadequate food, reduced staff, and even relocation of children due to closure threats,” said Vetten. 

“This constant movement, first from their families, then between Child and Youth Care Centres, undermines their ability to trust adults and form stable relationships. It’s emotionally damaging. We need to start acknowledging administrative harm, harm that results from poor governance decisions like these,” she said. 

Calls for permanent leadership grow amid crisis


Vetten traces some of the systemic breakdowns to leadership instability. The department still lacks a permanent head of department (HOD). 

“This position has been acting for over a year. We need a qualified, experienced, service-oriented leader with management skills. Without that, dysfunction continues,” she said. 

Vetten also raised concerns about the lack of accountability for past controversies.

“There’s been no public accounting for the infamous Service Level Agreement panels or the R70-million reportedly spent on an unused shelter. There are also reports about irregular payments to food banks and cooperatives. These issues have faded from public memory without proper investigation,” she said. 

Refiloe Nt’sekhe, a DA MPL in Gauteng, voiced concern over what she called a breakdown in the department’s internal systems, describing a department caught off guard and scrambling, with restructuring and leadership gaps only worsening the delays.

She highlighted the ongoing vacancy in the HOD role, calling it a major contributor to the department’s dysfunction. 

“Without permanent leadership, there’s no accountability or coordination. If this was a well-oiled machine, timelines would’ve been met,” Nt’sekhe said. 

She added that experienced staff had been moved out of key positions without consultation, further destabilising operations. These shifts, she said, had had a direct impact on service delivery and budget execution.

Of particular alarm to Nt’sekhe was the return of R102-million in unspent funds to the Treasury, money that should have gone to essential services like HIV/Aids programmes and dignity packs. 

“The department says it’s protecting children, but on the ground drop-in centres are underfunded, children are going hungry, and there are no real contingency plans. Three months of non-payment is too long. Vulnerable children are slipping through the cracks; it’s heartbreaking,” she said. 

The department issued a media statement on 3 June stating that since the start of the financial year it had issued 1,640 Service Level Agreements, of which 1,424 had been signed and concluded. A remaining 216 were still outstanding, prompting the department to issue warning letters to the relevant NPOs, with a firm deadline set for the end of this week. 

The department has responded to media inquiries regarding unpaid NPOs, stating that while individual financial details cannot be shared publicly, affected organisations were urged to contact their respective regional offices or monitoring and evaluation officials for updates. DM 

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