One of the many NGOs that has been hard hit by the Gauteng department of social development’s (DSD) recently-announced funding cuts is Khulisa Social Solutions — an organisation that specialises in restorative justice and community programmes.
This month the department informed the many NGOs it supports that they would no longer be receiving funding, or that the money they receive would be cut.
All the organisations had until the end of October last year to send in their applications for funding — with the call for their funding plans detailing that funding conditions for 2023/24 would be informed by the department’s priorities. Service providers and programmes that did not fall within the targeted priorities would not be considered, the request stated.
Khulisa has had a close relationship with the department for 26 years and has been running diversion programmes in Gauteng for 15 years. These programmes received DSD support, and involved the successful mediation of hundreds of cases that impacted “the lives of tens of thousands of vulnerable children, youth and adults”.
When Khulisa failed to receive feedback on its funding application before the start of the new financial year, it informed DSD that in “the absence of any communication from the department, in good faith, and believing that the department will continue to act with integrity”, the organisation would continue to render services as normal due to their extreme caseload and community commitments, but that no new cases would be taken on.
The unsuccessful outcome of Khulisa’s application was only communicated on April 13 in a letter dated March 20. The reason given for the refusal was that Khulisa’s services did not fall within the department’s new priorities.
And on April 19 Khulisa received an email advising them that their services had been terminated with effect from the end of March.
“It was devastating. We have had to close all our offices and retrench staff,” Khulisa CEO Lesley Ann van Selm told TimesLIVE. She said all cases referred to Khulisa by the courts have had to be terminated, office rental agreements had to be terminated and she had to inform staff that there was a likelihood that their April salaries would not be paid.
“We don’t understand why the DSD only told us in the middle of April that they have decided not to fund us any more, even though we asked for clarity. And it’s now left to us to communicate that decision to all the people we serve and partner with,” Van Selm said.
She said Khulisa was seeking legal advice to recover the damages they had suffered “as a result of the department’s unlawful actions”.
These included the rendering of services in April and possibly May to protect their beneficiaries; costs incurred in relation to the closing of offices, furniture removal and storage; retrenchment payouts and leave pay; April salaries; personnel costs for the management of exit strategies and costs incurred by staff who have had to seek counselling and therapy to deal with the trauma of the sudden loss of employment.
TimesLIVE contacted both the national and provincial departments of social development. Despite undertaking to give a response none was forthcoming by deadline. This will be added when it is received.
TimesLIVE
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Trauma and pain as DSD funding cuts bite deep
Traumatised NGO workers face unemployment and possibly no April payday
Image: Gill Gifford
One of the many NGOs that has been hard hit by the Gauteng department of social development’s (DSD) recently-announced funding cuts is Khulisa Social Solutions — an organisation that specialises in restorative justice and community programmes.
This month the department informed the many NGOs it supports that they would no longer be receiving funding, or that the money they receive would be cut.
All the organisations had until the end of October last year to send in their applications for funding — with the call for their funding plans detailing that funding conditions for 2023/24 would be informed by the department’s priorities. Service providers and programmes that did not fall within the targeted priorities would not be considered, the request stated.
Khulisa has had a close relationship with the department for 26 years and has been running diversion programmes in Gauteng for 15 years. These programmes received DSD support, and involved the successful mediation of hundreds of cases that impacted “the lives of tens of thousands of vulnerable children, youth and adults”.
When Khulisa failed to receive feedback on its funding application before the start of the new financial year, it informed DSD that in “the absence of any communication from the department, in good faith, and believing that the department will continue to act with integrity”, the organisation would continue to render services as normal due to their extreme caseload and community commitments, but that no new cases would be taken on.
The unsuccessful outcome of Khulisa’s application was only communicated on April 13 in a letter dated March 20. The reason given for the refusal was that Khulisa’s services did not fall within the department’s new priorities.
And on April 19 Khulisa received an email advising them that their services had been terminated with effect from the end of March.
“It was devastating. We have had to close all our offices and retrench staff,” Khulisa CEO Lesley Ann van Selm told TimesLIVE. She said all cases referred to Khulisa by the courts have had to be terminated, office rental agreements had to be terminated and she had to inform staff that there was a likelihood that their April salaries would not be paid.
“We don’t understand why the DSD only told us in the middle of April that they have decided not to fund us any more, even though we asked for clarity. And it’s now left to us to communicate that decision to all the people we serve and partner with,” Van Selm said.
She said Khulisa was seeking legal advice to recover the damages they had suffered “as a result of the department’s unlawful actions”.
These included the rendering of services in April and possibly May to protect their beneficiaries; costs incurred in relation to the closing of offices, furniture removal and storage; retrenchment payouts and leave pay; April salaries; personnel costs for the management of exit strategies and costs incurred by staff who have had to seek counselling and therapy to deal with the trauma of the sudden loss of employment.
TimesLIVE contacted both the national and provincial departments of social development. Despite undertaking to give a response none was forthcoming by deadline. This will be added when it is received.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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