International Day of Charity: whole of society can make a difference

With today marking International Day of Charity, Western Cape MEC of Social Development, Albert Fritz, will commemorate the day by donating blankets to the Salvation Army in Goodwood.

The Western Cape Government is proud to be at the forefront of coordinating and supporting charitable activity in the province. Key to our efforts is adopting a whole-of-society approach, which involves building partnerships with the private sector, non-governmental organisation (NGOs), and individuals in our communities.

Over the past five years we have increased our funding to NGOs, and now spend just over R946 million assisting them render services to residents of the province.

These services range from early childhood development, support for residents trying to beat their addiction to harmful substances, empowering people living with disabilities, and care for the elderly.

Most importantly, we have greatly strengthened our capacity to manage the funding of NGOs to render social services on behalf of the provincial department. Our introduction of a comprehensive NGO funding policy has enabled us to ensure that funding applications and allocations are managed through a consistent and transparent process. Alongside this we have introduced new departmental systems for monitoring the use of these funds by NGOs, ensuring that the vulnerable citizens of the Western Cape get maximum benefit from the funding we provide.

This drive resulted in the Financial and Fiscal Commission, in their submission for the Division of Revenue in 2014/15, finding that the Western Cape Department of Social Development spends a bigger portion of its budget (68%) on transfer payments to NGOs than any other province in this country. During these difficult financial times, we believe this is a critical move to preserve welfare services to our citizens.

These are just some of the many initiatives and programmes the Department of Social Development have put in place to assist and coordinate the good work being done by NGOs and other charitable organisations and individuals.

However the success of our interventions depends on continued partnerships with communities and citizens. We will only be able to assist poorer residents, if we work “Better Together”.

Media enquiries:
Sihle Ngobese
Tel: 021 483 9217
Cell: 076 083 6543
E-mail: Sihle.Ngobese@westerncape.gov.za

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