Social workers left penniless by Gauteng government

Staff of SANCA Thusong have not been paid by the Gauteng Department of Social Development since the beginning of April. Yet they have continued working. Photo: Seth Thorne

• SANCA Thusong is contracted by the Gauteng Department of Social Development to provide out-patient substance use treatment and prevention for about R878,000 every three months.
• The organisation went five months without any payment, but continued to operate regardless. Social workers have been buying fuel and airtime from their own pockets.
• Staff members have not been paid their salaries. Many are behind on their rent and are unable to provide for their families.
• On Monday, several days after GroundUp sent queries, the department processed payments, but for only two months.

About 15km east of the Pretoria city centre, in the community of Eersterust, sits a small, neatly kept building with a food garden. It serves as the main offices of SANCA Thusong, which has provided substance use disorder support and prevention since 1982.

The organisation also has offices in Nellmapius, Refilwe, Zithobeni and Rethabiseng (the last three offices were opened at the request of the Gauteng Department of Social Development). In the 2025/26 financial year, the organisation reached more than 160,000 people.

But an ongoing funding dispute with the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) has left over 50 staff members without pay for more than five months. Some of the funds were finally paid on Monday, five days after GroundUp sent questions to the department. But the organisation says it is still owed three months’ worth of funding.

Mamokete Molete has worked as a social auxiliary worker at SANCA Thusong for the past 16 years. She describes her job as being a “charger” to give “flat battery” clients a second chance at life. She conducts site visits in high-risk places, such as drug dens, and door-to-door awareness campaigns. She often goes into “dangerous areas to help people”.

She is also a mother of two. Having not been paid for the last few months, she had to pull her nine-year-old daughter out of after-school care and school transport service. Her eldest daughter was unable to enrol for her second semester at Jeppe College in Johannesburg.

Molete was also forced to cancel her pensioner parents’ home insurance policy and stop her monthly support payments to them.

But with the little money she has, she still buys airtime and data to keep in touch with her clients.

“Social work is all about care, but nobody cares for us,” said Molete.

Payment delays

SANCA Thusong receives GDSD funding for three programmes: out-patient and aftercare, prevention and awareness, and Ke Moja — the national government’s drug awareness programme.

In March, all three programmes were approved for funding for the 2026/27 financial year, which began on 1 April. But when the organisation received the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) from the department in the weeks that followed – two in the last week of April and one in the last week of May – the budgets had been cut by a total of R1.31-million, with no explanation given. Funds for the awareness programme had been cut by a quarter and the out-patient programme by more than half.

“This would have meant that we have to close almost all our offices,” said head of office Elosine Aucamp, who has worked at SANCA Thusong for more than 25 years.

They did not sign the initial contracts and lodged a formal appeal. The organisation continued to operate until June, without any GDSD funding. Aucamp said payment delays from the GDSD were not unusual, so they believed the money would materialise.

But by the end of June, the organisation’s resources were completely depleted, forcing the temporary closure of their offices. “We could no longer afford transport, fuel and basic supplies to support the community,” said Aucamp.

Staff nevertheless continued working without pay, providing services where possible by walking to where they are needed, and offering telephonic support.

The appeal was successful. By the end of July, a month into the second quarter, the organisation finally signed new SLAs, with the budget cuts reversed. The SLAs covered the full financial year, including the period the organisation operated with its own funds.

According to the contracts, the organisation should be paid nearly R878,000 for each of the first two quarters.

Expecting to be paid any day, the organisation continued to operate. On 6 August, Aucamp emailed the department asking when they could expect payment. The department’s acting director for partnerships and financing, Lerato Bob, responded that funds would reach the account by 18 August. But this did not happen.

In another email on 27 August, Aucamp said the organisation had struggled to deliver services since April as the lack of funds forced it to “beg and borrow” for basic resources. She said shortages of petrol, paper and toner were affecting programmes and reporting, potentially putting targets at risk.

At the beginning of September, the department told Aucamp it could only process payment for months in which work had been physically verified, stating that it had received statistics from the organisation for April but not May, June or July. The department would therefore only pay for April, August and September.

Aucamp responded that the stats for May and June had been provided on 27 August, and that July’s statistics were still being finalised. She attributed the delays to a lack of funding and basic resources.

She argued the delay was beyond the organisation’s control and requested that its full first- and second-quarter funding be paid.

“We are going to fight for what we worked for,” Aucamp told GroundUp.

GroundUp sent questions to the department on 2 September. We received a response on Monday, five days later, after the department had requested a deadline extension.

The department said payment had been processed on Monday for work done in April, and in advance for August and September, but that it was seeking a legal opinion on whether it could pay subsidies for May to July without having received statistics.

But Aucamp said the organisation did submit the statistics for May and June, albeit after the department’s deadline. She believes they have given sufficient explanation for the delay.

Aucamp also confirmed on Tuesday that subsidies were received, but only R585,000 was received — about two months worth of subsidies — against an expected R878,000.

GDSD spokesperson Motsamai Motlhaolwa acknowledged that the payment “took longer than it should have”, which “had a direct impact on the organisation and the communities it serves”. He said the department was reviewing its processes.

“SANCA Thusong is a valued partner in the delivery of substance use disorder prevention, outpatient care and awareness services in the Tshwane East area,” said Motlhaolwa.

“I cannot even take care of myself”

Social workers we spoke to reported that several clients had relapsed because they weren’t receiving daily support.

Mokgaetsi Semenya, a mother of two and social worker at SANCA Thusong since 2018, said she has had to approach loan sharks. “I am a social worker, but I cannot even take care of myself. So I have to go to the loan sharks, which we normally advise our people not to do,” she said.

“I felt like I had to because I could not afford anything and I have to provide for my kids.”

She added that her credit record has been ruined and that she has paid heavy bank charges as debit orders bounced on an empty account.

Her landlord has approached her several times for outstanding rent, leaving her with the risk of eviction.

Brian Swartz, the breadwinner for a family of five, has worked at SANCA Thusong since 2010.

He described the past five months as “the most difficult period of my life”, adding that he has been battling with suicidal thoughts. “It is something I had always taken pride in, being able to take care of my family,” he said.

Swartz also cares for his 81-year-old mother. He has been forced to halt his monthly financial contributions, insurance and utility payments. His personal savings are completely depleted, while household debit orders have failed. His family is “now struggling to survive,” he said.

Margaret Thukwana is a mother of four and has worked as a social worker at SANCA Thusong for over a decade. The breadwinner of her household, Thukwana faced an emergency in June when her child fell very sick. Having “not even a cent” to her name, she had no airtime or money to call an ambulance.

Another SANCA Thusong employee, who preferred to not be named, has worked in administration for over 20 years. As a single mother of three she has faced the lack of income alone.

She was forced to watch long-term insurance policies and life savings plans (which she had diligently paid into for 20 to 30 years) lapse. She says she has now resorted to pleading with acquaintances for food to feed her children. She faces daily pressure from her flat landlord over unpaid rent.

“While all of this is happening to us, they expect us to achieve near-impossible targets so their reports look good,” she said.

An elderly man working in the community food gardens, who uses the services of SANCA Thusong and preferred not to be named, said that “they saved my life”. He said if SANCA were to close, “it would destroy lots of families in our community”.

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