The Gauteng Care Crisis Committee’s Lisa Vetten said some of their member organisations were yet to be paid despite signing SLAs in April.
“From what we can see, those organisations signed contracts [and] the department raised expectations but has failed to pay those organisations.
“They sent a circular saying they would be paid by July but they didn’t do that. We [then] started writing to the department in September to ask what was happening with these organisations and when they will be paid. They have still [not been paid] and now they [department] say they’re only going to pay them by October 30. So those organisations have been badly treated.”
Some members were still waiting for decisions on funding while others were yet to receive funding for the first six months despite signing SLAs as far back as January.
Vetten said it appeared the adjudication panel appointed to facilitate the process “approved organisations that the department has no funding to pay for. So it’s still not [all] in good order. There may have been improvements but it’s not operating as it should.”
The DA in Gauteng indicated earlier this month it would put in a Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) application after the department failed to provide a report on the adjudication process undertaken by this panel.
This comes after “numerous unsuccessful attempts to elicit responses from former MEC Mbali Hlophe and current MEC Faith Mazibuko regarding the report on the NPO adjudication process”, the party’s Refiloe Nt’sekhe said.
“Specifically, both MECs have not responded to written questions tabled in the Gauteng provincial legislature, leaving the DA with no alternative but to file a Paia request for the adjudication information. It is unacceptable that many NPOs have signed SLAs but have not yet received funding.
“Moreover, some NPOs without signed SLAs have allegedly received funding, while others report receiving more than they applied for. To make matters worse, some NPOs have not received any feedback from the department about their eligibility and funding status.”
TimesLIVE
Khanyisile Ngcobo
www.timeslive.co.za
