Note to Editors: Please find soundbites in English and Sotho from Refiloe Nt’sekhe here and here.
The Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) has spent more than R5.1 million since February 2022 developing its Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) funding application and payment system, Grantor. Despite this significant expenditure of public funds, the system remains dysfunctional, failing NPOs in dire need of funding for social welfare services to the most vulnerable residents of Gauteng.
This system was meant to replace manual applications for funding and the management of NPOs post-funding application. It was also meant to remove glitches caused by manual applications, hence moving to a digital system.
Feedback shared with the Democratic Alliance (DA) by affected NPOs suggests that the department rolled out the Grantor system prematurely. Any responsible ICT project requires proper testing, meaningful stakeholder consultation, and rigorous quality assurance. Yet, even during departmental briefings, technical failures and operational weaknesses were already evident.
NPOs have struggled to use the system, with some not even receiving usernames and passwords, leading to delays in applications and payments. As a result, many of these NPOs are at risk of shutting down due to funding issues, which could leave vulnerable communities without vital services such as food relief, shelter, counselling, and healthcare.
Equally concerning is that the system appears to have been designed with little consideration for NPOs operating in rural communities, where access to stable internet and connectivity remains a serious challenge. A digital system that fails to account for the realities of rural Gauteng automatically excludes many organisations that are already working under difficult conditions.
It is unacceptable that the department demands compliance from NPOs while failing to provide a functional and accessible platform to support them. Even more alarming is that successive MECs have overseen the rollout of this system, yet none have taken decisive action to fix it.
The DA will table questions to the current Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, to determine who approved the Grantor system, whether the department properly tested it with NPOs before rollout, which organisations participated in the testing phase, what processes the department followed before implementation, and whether the department intends to proceed with the system in its current form. Public money was spent on this system, and the public deserves answers.
The DA is the only party that can end inefficiency in the systems designed to serve Gauteng NPOs. We will implement NPO payment systems that guarantee compliance, strengthen accountability, and ensure efficient payments, while also supporting NPOs through help desks and capacity-building programmes.