The Democratic Alliance (DA) will request the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Nonhlahla Ndaba, to call a joint meeting with the Portfolio Committee on Social Development to discuss funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the disability care sector.
We are extremely concerned with the government’s failure to provide adequate funding to NGOs that offer much needed assistance to persons with disabilities. During the DA’s national oversight tour, we discovered that NGOs in this sector are on their knees financially and are no longer able to properly serve the needs of persons with disabilities:
Free State:
We visited the Jean Weber House which is a boarding facility for persons with disabilities run by the Free State Association for Persons with Disabilities. This facility currently provides a shelter and essential services for 33 residents and only receives R101 750 from the Department of Social Development (DSD). This money is not nearly enough to cover the costs of basic necessities like electricity; water; medical supplies; and salaries for a driver, health care worker, two cleaners, four cooks, four security guards and twenty-four care workers. The facility currently has a monthly shortfall of R65 915 and will soon close down if it does not receive adequate funding from the DSD.
North West
The Emmanuel Care Centre relies on its residents’ SASSA grants and donations from the private sector to shelter, provide medical supplies and other essential services to over one hundred persons with disabilities. They do not receive funding from government and face imminent closure due to a lack of adequate funding to cover their operational costs.
KwaZulu-Natal
The Mzamo Child Guidance and Training Initiatives also face funding challenges, which has resulted in them terminating their skills training and development programme for children with disabilities.
While these are only a few examples that the DA encountered during our oversight tour, the truth is that there are countless NGOs in the disability care sector with the same financial constraints and facing the very real reality of closing down.
Without proper funding for these NGOs, vulnerable South Africans living with disabilities are at risk of homelessness and losing access to dignified care and education.
The DA trusts that Chairperson Ndaba will grant our request for a joint committee meeting in order to ensure that Parliament places the needs of persons with disabilities at the top of its agenda. We will also continue to put pressure on the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities to assist struggling NGOs in the sector.
Local Government Elections are coming up in 2021! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status