The Democratic Alliance (DA) is probing potential negligence by the Northern Cape Social Development Department to ensure that Sinothando Kids Haven funds have been utilised prudently and to the benefit of the vulnerable children it is tasked to care for.
Child and Youth Care Workers employed at the centre, in Galeshewe, Kimberley, have not received their salaries for May, with further threats of not receiving any income for June. It is alleged that this is due to maladministration, corruption and the mismanagement of funds.
The DA is also aware of an employee of the facility, who made contributions to her pension fund for ten years but was notified, upon her application to make a withdrawal from the two-pot retirement system, that the NGO never registered her. It was only in 2023 that she was eventually registered under the new management.
Allegations of serious governance and operational failures have surrounded the facility since 2010. Yet the facility continued to receive funding from the department despite its failure to adhere to Section 38(1) of the PFMA, which requires the implementation of effective, efficient and transparent financial management and internal control systems.
The DA is concerned that although the department admits to being overly reliant on the statutory services provided by NGOs, it continues to fail these facilities through a lack of timeous and consistent compliance checks, compromising sustainable service delivery.
The DA has submitted questions to the MEC for Social Development, Nontobeko Vilakazi, to request a breakdown of funding allocations provided to Sinothando Kids Haven and departmental oversight and compliance reports. If there has been any wrongdoing, we want to know how the department plans to manage the matter, and recoup monies that cannot be accounted for. We also want to know how the department will mitigate potential disruptions in service delivery and protect the welfare of the children.
The DA will not tolerate the exploitation of vulnerable children for the benefit of corrupt accounting officials.