The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will disburse the first social grants of 2026 to beneficiaries next week. The Gauteng Department of Social Development has come under criticism after failing to spend more than R100 million during the 2024–25 financial year. According to the department’s annual report, R102.9 million of its allocated budget remained unspent.
The reasons for the underspending were not explained in the report. This comes amid growing social challenges in the province. Statistics South Africa data and the General Household Survey of 2020–2021 indicate that Gauteng had 154 000 orphans between the ages of 0 and 17, representing a 1.7% increase from the 78 000 recorded in the previous financial year.
Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), said departments that fail to spend their budgets either lack proper planning or are not functioning effectively. “It is a political leadership issue which needs an intervention. If the premier is not going to take action and fire or hold his leadership to account, then the president/Cabinet and/or parliament should start holding Panyaza Lesufi and his MECs to account.
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“Quite frankly, when it comes to the next elections, it is up to the electorate to hold the Gauteng political leadership to account – by voting them out of office.” Duvenage added that political change was necessary in municipalities and provinces that consistently failed to deliver on their mandates. Democratic Alliance member of the Gauteng provincial legislature, Refiloe Nt’sekhe, said the underspending reflected a recurring problem rather than an isolated incident.
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