Gauteng Social Development Dept blames NPOs for delays in signing contracts for funding

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng Department of Social Development has put the blame on NPOs for delaying to signing of contracts for funding for the 2025/2026 financial year.

NPOs with renewal contracts should be signing in January, two months before the financial year begins, while new NPOs must be signed on 25 March.

In a written statement, the department admitted to issuing contracts late, which came in mid-April, four months later than it should have.

READ: Gauteng Social Development Dept fails to meet funding commitments to NPOs

At the end of April, the department announced that it was ready to disburse funding for the 2025/2026 financial year.

While the department blamed the NPOs for not signing on time to get paid, the crisis committee said that not all NPOs had even received contracts to sign, nor received funding.

Chairperson of the committee, Lisa Vetten, said that this was the third year the department missed its own deadlines.

"The department should have signed organisations contracts by the end of January but you put that to one sign and you focus on mid-March and because mid-March didn’t happen and it only started in April, four months later, then it was already going to put a delay."

She said that the department was unjust by blaming the NPOs for a mistake they made and admitted to.