Gauteng gets tough on illegal NPOs

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Gauteng Social Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza said the move was made necessary by the rise in the abuse of NPOs for criminal purposes.

“Government has now taken stringent measures to ensure that NPOs comply with terms and regulations, as contained in their signed Service Level Agreement (SLA) and the NPO Act. We have had instances where some NPOs provide inaccurate financial reports, inappropriate management of assets purchased with public funds and poor record keeping systems,” MEC Mayathula-Khoza said.

She stressed that these were not new requirements for funding, but government has now begun a rigorous compliance process with regards to all funded organisations.

“We have resolved to give all Gauteng NPOs a grace period of six months ending September 2018 to get their legal standing in order. This will ensure that they achieve green status in terms of NPO Act,” said MEC Mayathula-Khoza.

The MEC, however, said that the provincial government remains sensitive to non-disruption of services to vulnerable citizens.

“The resolution to give a grace period is therefore done in the interest of service delivery. We hope it would be taken seriously by those affected so that we are all able to continue to serve those who depend on our services.”

Last week, the department hosted a two-day stakeholder engagement, which was attended by over 2,400 NPOs.

The meeting, held at Turffontein Race Course in Johannesburg, was a platform to listen to the plight of NPOs and give a way forward to ensure that the department’s plans, particularly its resource allocation, is in line with their needs.

During the meeting, MEC Mayathula-Khoza announced that the provincial government has spent over R11 billion to fund NPOs in the past four years alone.