- Thousands of the neediest people will suffer if the provincial government slashes their funding later this year, a local organisation has warned.
- In a letter sent to funded NPOs, the department says this decision follows the announcement by the national government to slash billions of rands in funding to provincial governments.
- In the letter the department says it will try and mitigate the impact of the situation.
Thousands of the neediest people will suffer if the provincial government slashes their funding later this year, a local organisation has warned.
Iris House Children’s Hospice, based in Stikland in Bellville, looks after the needs of 570 children with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses, as well as their families. All of this is done for free, with the help of public donations and contributions by the provincial social development department.
This may all change from 1 April 2024 once the department withdraws its funding.
In a letter sent to funded NPOs, the department says this decision follows the announcement by the national government to slash billions of rands in funding to provincial governments.TygerBurger has proven the authenticity of the letter.
In it, the department says it will try and mitigate the impact of the situation, the letter warns.
“We are, however, unable to guarantee continued funding to your organisation from 1 April 2024.”
Sue van der Linde, Iris House’s founder and chair, says the “stakes are immeasurable” if the planned cuts go through and the hospice is affected. “This isn’t the first decrease we have faced. We are already stretched beyond belief.”
If the government decreases their funding by as little as R100 000, the hospice would have to take away a service. “It would floor us.”
The hospice is a holistic charity that not only looks after the needs of the children but also looks after the families, who often live from grant to grant. “If the family (of the child in the hospice’s care) falls apart, we haven’t achieved much.” Families that aren’t uplifted as a whole are at risk of dumping or abusing the vulnerable children, she says. They can’t cut back on their level of care, either, as the vulnerable children will then suffer because of subpar staff.
“Our level of care is not a cheap service. Our (staff) are paid.”
Van der Linde says they haven’t received confirmation whether they will indeed be hit by the budget cuts, but are being proactive. “We can’t sit here and wait. We are not going down without a fight.”
The hospice has set up a few initiatives they hope to follow to help them during this time. The first is a petition they hope to take to Parliament to stop the national budget cuts. The petition can only serve in front of Parliament once it has more than 15,000 signatures. “Not everyone can donate, but everyone can sign a petition,” van der Linde says.
They have also set up a fundraising campaign that will go live within the next few days, called “not without a fight.”
“We never want to be in this position again. We want to be self-sustaining.” The hospice has set up a model for a “living hospice”.
The plans will be made public later, but if all goes according to plan, they will receive a regular income and not be dependent on the government. “All its profits will enable us to continue our services for those that can’t afford it.”
In the meantime, they need bridging funding to get this off the ground. They are aiming to raise R1.5 million for this.
“We don’t believe this is the last of it (budget cuts). It doesn’t matter what happens in May elections, it’s not going to be good. We have a bankrupt government. And if a coalition takes over, they will take over a bankrupt government.”And without any intervention, the most vulnerable will continue to suffer.
Sign the petition here.
Keep an eye on Iris House’s Facebook Page for details of their fundraiser, launching soon.
