Gauteng Department Social Development: SANCA Thusong Faces Unpaid Funding Crisis

• The Gauteng Department of Social Development owes SANCA Thusong R1.17-million, causing severe distress to over 50 staff members and disrupting vital community services.
• Despite a partial payment of approximately R585,000, the rehabilitation center remains unpaid for services rendered from April to July of the 2026/27 financial year.
• Initial funding delays stemmed from unexplained budget cuts and later from disputes over the timely submission of service statistics, which SANCA Thusong attributed to resource depletion from non-payment.
• Corrected Service Level Agreements were signed in July, yet the department's internal processes for resolving the payment dispute remain ongoing without a clear resolution for SANCA Thusong.
• This situation is part of a broader pattern of prolonged payment delays by the GDSD, impacting numerous non-profit organizations providing critical social services across Gauteng.

This ongoing crisis underscores a systemic failure in government funding mechanisms, jeopardizing the continuity of essential social services and the livelihoods of dedicated professionals across Gauteng.

The Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) currently owes SANCA Thusong, a rehabilitation center located in east Pretoria, an outstanding amount of R1.17-million. This significant debt has accumulated over several months, extending six months into the 2026/27 financial year, leaving the non-profit organization in a precarious financial state.

The non-payment has had severe repercussions for over 50 staff members at SANCA Thusong, who are experiencing profound financial, emotional, and psychological distress. Many have depleted their life savings, faced eviction warnings from landlords, incurred substantial bank charges due to bounced debit orders, and resorted to high-interest loan sharks to provide for their families. Despite these personal hardships, staff have continued their efforts, though with severely diminished resources.

Crucially, the disruption extends beyond the organization's internal operations, impacting frontline services in communities such as Eerusterust, Nellmapius, Refilwe, Zithobeni, and Rethabiseng. The center, which served more than 160,000 individuals in the 2025/26 period, has reported an increase in relapses among its clients. Furthermore, SANCA Thusong itself is in arrears, with essential services like telephone lines cut off, Wi-Fi disabled, and facing threats of repossession from creditors. Following inquiries made by GroundUp in early September, the GDSD processed a payment of approximately R585,000. While the department initially indicated this payment covered April, August, and September, it later clarified that it only accounted for August and September, leaving the organization still unpaid for services rendered from April to July.

The initial funding delay for SANCA Thusong stemmed from unexplained cuts totaling R1.3-million to its out-patient, aftercare, prevention, and awareness programs. The organization successfully challenged these reductions, leading to the signing of corrected Service Level Agreements (SLAs) on July 31. However, the payment issues persisted. On September 7, the GDSD informed GroundUp that the delay was due to the process of identifying and correcting the budget discrepancy taking longer than anticipated.

Adding to the complexity, the GDSD had previously cited the absence of verified service statistics for May, June, and July as a reason for withholding subsidies. SANCA Thusong countered this, explaining that its staff were unable to retrieve supporting records or afford copying costs because their resources had been exhausted by the ongoing non-payments. Despite these challenges, the organization managed to secure a small loan to cover travel and office supplies, enabling the submission of May and June statistics in August.

In an email dated September 8, a GDSD deputy director of NPO financing assured SANCA Thusong that payments for April, May, June, and July 2026 would be processed with

The challenges faced by SANCA Thusong are not isolated incidents but rather indicative of a broader crisis within the non-profit sector in Gauteng. GroundUp has consistently reported on systemic issues within the GDSD, including years of mismanagement and corruption, which have adversely affected both beneficiaries and organizations. SANCA Thusong is one of many non-profit organizations experiencing prolonged delays in receiving their 2026/27 payments.

In May 2026, representatives from various organizations protested against what they termed years of 'funding injustice' by the GDSD. Their grievances included persistent payment delays, budget cuts impacting competent welfare organizations, and a perceived lack of departmental support. Lisa Vetten of the Gauteng Care Crisis Committee, a coalition of non-profits, confirmed that these payment delays have severely crippled numerous organizations providing critical services to vulnerable communities across the province.

This ongoing crisis underscores a systemic failure in government funding mechanisms, jeopardizing the continuity of essential social services and the livelihoods of dedicated professionals across Gauteng. An unnamed organization, which has provided free child protection and therapeutic services in the east of Gauteng for 25 years, is also among those affected, highlighting the widespread impact of the GDSD's payment arrears on the delivery of vital community support.

Lawyers advising non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Gauteng, particularly those reliant on government funding, should be aware of the systemic and prolonged payment delays by the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD). This situation highlights significant contractual risks and potential for breach of service level agreements, necessitating robust legal strategies for NPOs to secure payments and manage operational continuity. Compliance officers within NPOs must ensure meticulous record-keeping and timely submission of required statistics, as these can be cited by the GDSD as reasons for withholding funds, even amidst the department's own administrative failures.

Source: Reporting based on information from GroundUp.