Gauteng NPOs under pressure after govt's new online funding application system 'fails', 2 weeks before deadline

702's John Perlman chats to Lisa Vetten, chairperson of the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee.

Two months ago in August, the Gauteng Department of Social Development urged non-profit organisations (NPOs) to embrace a new online system designed to streamline its application and payment processes.

Now, with the deadline for funding applications just two weeks away, it appears the Department has backtracked because the new digital platform Grantor is not working.

An alert on its Facebook page says NPOs should use email even if they have applied through the online system.

This is after organisations had to devote time and energy to attending mandatory training sessions back in August.

"Effectively, the Department finally admitted on Monday that the system had too many teething problems to continue with it, and then issued a brand-new template for organisations to use. So effectively, they have now roughly got two weeks to try and put these new applications together."

"Lisa Vetten, Chair - Gauteng Care Crisis Committee

Vetten says the pressure they're now under is exacerbated by the fact that at the same time, the Department also wants the end of quarter reports 'which take a plethora of forms and demands most minutely detailed information'.

"It becomes very stressful because if they don't get their applications in on time, that means there's no funding next year and no services to people in the province as a consequence."

Lisa Vetten, Chair - Gauteng Care Crisis Committee

Problems with the funding and application model is nothing new, Vetten says.

She outlines how these have kept changing more or less since September 2022 when the Department first announced a change in its systems and the introduction of a much more 'punitive' approach to NGOs receiving money, along with budget cuts.

For more detail, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article

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