The most vulnerable residents of Gauteng, including older people, people with disabilities, orphans, vulnerable children, and those living with HIV who are dependent solely on the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) for financial support, will suffer as the department continues to spend more money on welfare to work programmes.
According to media reports, GDSD has awarded grants of over R56 million to two skills development organisations in a year in which funding to other sectors such as the elderly and community care centres has been cut. Beauty Hub Academy and Daracorp were granted R30 million and over R26 million, respectively, for the 2023/2024 financial year.
In response to the media report, the department stated that four senior officials have been suspended. By suspending officials, the Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Mbali Hlophe, is merely passing the buck. The department’s social media pages tell a different story, one of an MEC who knew what was happening in her department. She was present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony when Beauty Hub opened its branch in Carletonville on the 8th of December 2022.
When she launched Daracorp, she was with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mr Sidumo Dlamini. In addition, she facilitated the soil testing via the Gauteng Department of Agriculture Rural Development, which she also leads. Both projects are also running on sites owned by the South African National Defence Force, and this would require a political leader to engage this national department.
Despite receiving a concept pack containing funding for both projects the MEC did not raise any objections and launched them. This indicates that she supported these projects and considered them worthwhile. She also presided over the graduations of students from the Beauty hub.
The mandate of the GDSD is to look after the poor and vulnerable residents of Gauteng. The MEC should account for the exorbitant money spent on these projects instead of throwing the staff under the bus and pretending she was not aware of what happened.
The DA will be tabling questions to MEC Hlophe to ascertain how the department determines the funding per person for welfare to work versus funding for older persons, persons with disabilities, orphans and vulnerable children, and HIV/AIDS programmes, as the funding allocations are biased and discrepant. The DA demands that the Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi must act against MEC Hlophe for dodging accountability and failing the vulnerable residents of Gauteng.