Questions are being asked after the Gauteng Department of Social Development pushed through R11m in subsidies for a new drug rehab centre in the province while simultaneously defunding several similar existing non-profit organisations (NPOs).
And while these other NPOs have been funded for years by the department and have been struggling with catastrophic delays in service agreements and a dysfunctional application process for their subsidies, the new centre was approved in a speedy three weeks, write Daniel Steyn, Masego Mafata and Raymond Joseph for GroundUp.
Clinix Foundation, a new non-profit organisation linked to Clinix Health Group, received R11m in funding for the last two quarters of 2023/24 for 119 beds.
Meanwhile, at least five NPO drug rehabs, accounting for 246 of the province’s 571 state-funded beds, were recently notified that they will not receive funding for the 2024/25 financial year because they are “under investigation” – although they were not told what the allegations are. They now face closure…..more