Child Welfare Kempton Park battles to keep head above water

CHILD Welfare Kempton Park is in dire financial straits.

This was revealed during the annual general meeting on Friday at the branch’s offices on Maxwell Street.

In the 2017 financial year, the organisation fell short R1,3-million compared to the R630 960 in 2016.

Zodwa Mnzondo, former director of the welfare, who spoke at the meeting, said: “The organisation has been under the administration of the welfare national office for two years and this has posed a challenge to the organisation, which may also be viewed as a determining factor in the organisation’s sustainability.

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However, the organisation has displayed a resilient spirit and this was demonstrated when the organisation petitioned the national office and further called for help from the office of the Public Protector, Department of Social Development and SARS.”

Current director of the society, Makha Thusi, said financial mismanagement had created big gaps, which were not easy to bridge.

“With our only source of income being a 75 per cent grant from the Department of Social Development, the organisation faces the challenge to get on its feet and raise the outstanding 25 per cent from various other sources.

“The arrears that have been inherited come from the mismanagement of our funds by the national office. Furthermore, the national office took R800 000 from our account without our approval,” said Thusi.

Three of the society’s vehicles were sold, which generated R250 000. The money was used to help pay off their SARS debt.

The welfare, which has 2 000 children in its care, said it had kept to a very tight budget to secure the well-being of its beneficiaries.

Thusi said this had negatively affected the organisation, as it had become stagnant in delivering its services. She said getting funding is also difficult for the organisation in its current state.

“Even if we knock on the doors of prospective funders, we do not make the cut simply because we do not have the required documents to authenticate in accordance with regulations,” Thusi said.

Boitumelo Seanego, the general accounting and human resource administrator, said because the welfare’s financial state was ailing there was now an even greater need to pay basic expenses.

“Since I joined this organisation in February, we have attended endless meetings at SARS trying to resolve the issue so that we can get our tax clearance certificate, but so far all our efforts have been in vain,” Seanego said.

She said the agency’s expenditure had increased by 1.9 per cent due to the lack of financial measures in place.

“Management has to come up with strategies that will cut or minimise costs drastically where possible, in order to sustain the organisation,” Seanego added.