City to continue funding drug oriented NPO’s
Non Profit Organisations (NPOs) which specialize in programmes to address the scourge of drug abuse in the jurisdiction of Tshwane will, from February 2019, be given an opportunity to apply for grants from the City of Tshwane’s Health Department. This follows the City’s announcement that applications for Drug and Substance Abuse (DSA) grant funding for the 2018/19 financial year will be advertised in the media from 1 February 2019.
In the past year much has been said about the City of Tshwane’s DSA programme. Various experts have independently hailed the drug and substance programme in the City as a very innovative initiative that should serve as an example for other metropolitan municipalities in South Africa.
According to the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Health, Councillor (Cllr) Sakkie du Plooy, the City needs the communities’ support in order to win the battle against drugs. Cllr Du Plooy adds that, it is within these communities that the various NPOs which are doing excellent work and deserve the financial assistance of the Tshwane metro. Du Plooy indicated that as a responsible administration, the City will ensure that this assistance to NPOs culminates in “value for money” and will not open up opportunities for corruption and wasteful expenditure. It is also imperative for the City to build-in checks and balances to guarantee that the right NPO’s get funding for the right programmes.
NPOs which are planning to apply for DSA grants will have to meet certain minimum requirements which will be clearly indicated in the advertisement that will appear in the media. Apart from the fact that only fully registered NPO’s can apply, the successful candidates must also have a proven track record of at least two years of conducting specialized and outcome based drug programmes. They also need to be in possession of a DSA certificate which is issued by the provincial Department of Social Development.
Another crucial aspect is a detailed action plan that specifies clearly what is going to be done, for who, when it is going to happen as well as where the activities are going to take place. A realistic comprehensive costing of the plan in addition to an indication of how the outcomes of the action steps will be measured, must be included.
“The 2018/19 advert will strictly be requesting applications per thematic areas (demand reduction, harm reduction, & supply reduction) of the National Drug Master plan. Anything on the borderlines or outside the thematic areas will not be funded. All the NPO’s which will receive grants from the City will have to sign a service level agreement wherein they amongst others, commit themselves to submit regular progress reports and financial statements. The City will interact on a regular basis with them to ensure continuous training and guidance,” said MMC Du Plooy.
To streamline this process and ensure that all NPOs which are planning to apply for DSA grants are fully informed about the requirements, the City’s Health Department will be conducting a workshop on 31 January 2019, the day before the applications open. During the workshop the relevant departments will outline different requirements in detail. SARS will for example address the issue of tax certificates, the Provincial Department of Social Development will inform the NPOs on why it is important to obtain a DSA certificate whilst the Joint Operation Committee (JOC) will share guidelines that need to be followed when planning an event.
Cllr Du Plooy emphasised that funding the right NPOs has over the years proven to be a creative and right mechanism to get communities directly involved in resolving challenges they face on a daily basis, hence the need to continue with this initiative.