The Western Cape Department of Social Development has allocated R1 138 billion in transfer funding to 1072 organisations across the province for the 2025-’26 financial year, announced on World NGO Day on Friday 27 February.
The organisations operate in social service sectors including child protection, substance use disorder support, victim empowerment, older persons, persons with disabilities, youth development, and humanitarian relief.
Western Cape minister of social development Jaco Londt said, “Our partner NGOs and NPOs strengthen the hand of the department, by increasing our footprint across the province so that services may reach the most vulnerable in society. As government, we cannot address social ills on our own, partners like NGOs and NPOs are vital to reaching more vulnerable residents.”
Work to relieve pressure on government
This week, Londt visited several Garden Route organisations funded by the department.
Amy Kearns from Creative Community Development Project, an NPO supporting older persons, said, “NGOs reach vulnerable people – like the elderly – that government cannot always reach. We provide them with meals, self-care and awareness programmes, thus helping relieve pressure on the government”.
Roslynn Damons, parenting manager and trainer at Seven Passes Initiative, which offers after-school programmes and violence prevention programmes for parents and children, said, “Government cannot always reach all the rural areas like ours. We are based in these communities. We see families who are at risk and we have a more trusting relationship with the people in the communities we serve.”
Londt added, “We believe strongly in the role of NGOs and NPOs in making a positive difference to society. We honour these organisations not just in words, but with action. We provide transfer funding ahead of time, in contrast to provinces elsewhere in the country where NGOs do not even get their funding.”
The department established the Cape Care Fund in partnership with The Health Foundation South Africa. “The Cape Care Fund has mobilised R400 000 in just six months, for the benefit of various organisations that serve the vulnerable. We encourage the private sector to support this initiative, to bolster the resilience of more credible, registered, and vetted organisations in the Western Cape.”
