Budget: Give more funding to NGOs for crucial role

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget on Wednesday should try by all means to avoid slashing funding for non-governmental organisations that play a crucial role in ensuring that poor South Africans are not left to fend for themselves.

Godongwana, in his medium-term budget policy statement last year, said government spending had been revised down by R21 billion, with further reductions of R64bn in 2024/25 and R69bn in 2025/26.

Cutting funding for the organisations catering for gender-based violence victims, orphans, homeless people and the elderly, among others, will spell disaster for this country.

It was the same organisations that millions of people turned to when the government could not assist them at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. And which continue to fill the gaps with the little budgets they have when the Social Development Department fails to fulfil its constitutional mandate.

It’s frustrating that they have to find themselves in this precarious position, facing possible closures largely due to government mismanagement. Compounding their challenges is the rising unemployment, especially among the youth.

The R350 grant is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of the majority of beneficiaries.

The anti-gender-based violence Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture Trust has already detailed the devastating impact further budget cuts would have on the organisation sitting with a R300 000 bill for monthly operational costs.

“If the trauma centre does not get funding, then we will have to lay off the majority of our social workers and social auxiliary workers. We still hope the cut won’t be so severe, but the correspondence we received said funding was not guaranteed,” said the organisation.

This is a scenario that Godongwana’s Budget must avoid. In fact, this is where the bulk of funding should go.

These organisations are the lifeblood of our communities in the face of the government’s monumental failures and mismanagement.

Slashing their funding allocation would be tantamount to declaring war against the poor and vulnerable groups, the very same people about whose plight the ANC claims to be concerned.

Cape Times