Keep non-profit organisations alive, well

It will be cataclysmic for society to not safeguard itself against the demise of civil society organisations in the country; not only because of their historical role in dismantling apartheid, but also because these organisations play a pivotal role in bridging the gap of uneven development in South Africa.

They provide support to a developing democracy, either through direct provision of social services to different vulnerable groups or by enriching debates in public policy discourse.

Given the historical and current imbalances in our country, the role of the non-profit organisation (NPO) sector in the context of development continuously becomes more central.

As a result, challenges facing the NPO sector gradually become more numerous than successes.

Among challenges facing the sector, funding, capacity, regulatory framework, transformation of welfare services and government NPO partnerships are rife. In attempting to address the above challenges facing the NPO sector, the minister of social development Bathabile Dlamini appointed a ministerial task team, of which I was one of the appointees.

Among other tasks assigned to the ministerial task team we had to develop a three-year plan of action for 2013 to 2015 that articulated activities to be undertaken, ranging from few months to the next three years.

As ministerial task team, we travelled every corner of the country informing the sector about the plan and everybody within the sector was so thrilled that at last our challenges have reached a high level of hierarchy in government.

Today the plan is yet to be implemented and I begin to ask myself: what will happen to our communities who depend on NPO services for health and social services if the government and civil society does not make the necessary interventions in curbing the demise of this treasured sector?

Considering the extent to which the department of social development is failing this sector, is it not time for this sector to be self-regulatory by establishing an NPO regulatory council that will exist independently from outside of government?

An entry point on this regard must be to amend the Non-profit Organisations Act as it is the main in regulatory framework for organisations to derive benefits which include, but are not limited to registration as a legal entity, tax exemption provision as catalogued in the taxation amendments laws and exemption to pay skills levies as stipulated in the Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999 and The National Development Agency Act must be reconsidered as well.

I think now is the time to begin discussing the establishment of an NPO regulatory council as a possible permanent solution to challenges facing the sector, ultimately, communities will be the ones to benefit.

Ramakola Bopape is the coordinator of the Capricorn District Community Based Organisations Forum. He writes in his personal capacity.