R100 Million Left on the Table: Why Gauteng Social Development Is Facing Growing Backlash

Millions Unspent While Need Keeps Growing

At a time when poverty, unemployment and social distress are tightening their grip on Gauteng households, the provincial Department of Social Development has landed in hot water for leaving more than R100 million unused.

According to its 2024/25 annual report, the department failed to spend R102.9 million of its allocated budget, money that was meant to support some of the province’s most vulnerable residents. What makes the situation harder to swallow is that no clear explanation has been provided for why the funds were left untouched.

For many communities relying on social services, the figures feel disconnected from reality.

A Province With Rising Social Pressure

Statistics paint a sobering picture. Data from Stats SA and the General Household Survey shows Gauteng had about 154,000 orphans between the ages of 0 and 17 in 2020–2021, a noticeable increase from the previous reporting period.

In a province already under strain from migration, unemployment and service delivery challenges, social development programmes are often the last line of support. When funds go unspent, the impact is felt far beyond balance sheets it reaches homes, shelters and community organisations that depend on this support to survive.

“This Is a Leadership Failure”

Civil society has not minced its words. Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), described the underspending as a clear sign of deeper dysfunction.

According to Duvenage, departments that fail to use their budgets are usually battling poor planning, weak oversight and ineffective leadership. The real cost, he warned, is paid by non-profit organisations and agencies that remain underfunded, while vulnerable people go without essential services.

He argued that political accountability cannot be avoided, calling on provincial leadership and ultimately national government and Parliament, to intervene if action is not taken locally.

Disability Commitments Missed Again

The criticism doesn’t stop at unspent funds. The department also failed to meet its own commitment to employ at least 2% of staff from the disability community. Targets to empower businesses owned by persons with disabilities were also missed.

Democratic Alliance MPL Refiloe Nt’sekhe said this was not an isolated incident, but part of a worrying pattern.

She described the situation as not only a financial failure, but an ethical one, pointing out that promised disability services, including residential and community-based support, once again fell short.

Public Frustration Is Growing

On social media, reactions have ranged from anger to exhaustion. Many Gauteng residents questioned how money can go unspent in a province where the need for social assistance is visible every day, from overcrowded shelters to struggling child welfare organisations.

For critics, the issue is no longer just about accounting. It’s about trust, priorities and whether leadership understands the urgency on the ground.

As Gauteng edges closer to future elections, pressure is mounting for real consequences and for social development funds to reach the people they were meant to help, not sit idle in government accounts.

{Source: The Citizen}

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