The Gauteng Department of Social Development has underspent its budget by R554 million. It is failing to allocate essential funding to Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) that support the province’s most vulnerable residents.
The DA’s Refiloe Nt’sekhe, Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development, has called on MEC Faith Mazibuko to clean up the Department and hold her Head of Department and other relevant officials to account.
The Auditor-General’s performance report on the Department highlighted severe financial mismanagement, including irregular expenditure and material misstatements.
NPOs are being forced to close for lack of funding. This is when the scars of the Life Esidimeni tragedy are still fresh, says Nt’sekhe.
“The R554 million underspent could have been used to provide vital services for older people, behavioural change programs, family preservation, and substance-use treatment, as well as to support NPOs and prevent their closure. Instead, this money has been wasted and returned to the Treasury, leaving many without the support they desperately need.”
The department lacks effective planning and implementation. Former MEC Mbali Hlophe accused the DA of “peddling lies” and claimed that her department had achieved 81% of its performance targets. However, the AG’s findings confirmed that the DA’s concerns were well-founded and exposed the former MEC’s attempts to deflect blame and misrepresent the department’s performance.
The DA has called on MEC Mazibuko to take decisive steps to clean out the department and hold the Head of Department to account for these failures.
[Image: https://www.da.org.za/get-to-know-refiloe-ntsekhe]