The South African Disability Alliance (SADA) issued a statement last week to raise awareness of the barriers created by the Department of Social Development (DSD) and National Lotteries Commission (NLC), which has prevented disability organisations from applying for crucial funding. This in turn has threatened the survival of life-saving services and programmes for the disability community.
Challenges created by the Department
The DSD has been unable or unwilling to assist disability organisations with updating their registration details according to SADA. Furthermore, the out-of-date database on the DSD systems prevent NPOs from submitting their applications to the NLC – a link that wasn’t publicly disclosed.
The system challenges weren’t communication nor were any functional guidelines or clear instructions shared to help organisations navigate this process. There is also no technical assistance according to the SADA statements.
“Incomplete or erroneous DSD records have disqualified many organisations from the current NLC funding cycle. Efforts to seek help from DSD have been met with silence or ineffective responses, with no functional channels available for NPOs to escalate urgent issues or receive real-time updates,” SADA states.
“In many instances, the NPOs that serve persons with disabilities have submitted all necessary information, only to be met with silence or ‘system errors’ that go unresolved, effectively precluding them from applying for NLC funding altogether.”
Challenges created by the Commission
The NLC did grant a two-week extension for the 2025/26 funding application period. However, applicants were met with more challenges. The online application portal was reportedly unstable, frequently crashing and generating continuous errors. These technical glitches even after logging in, which blocked submissions. There was also no real-time (such as a helpline or troubleshooting guide) available.
“These are not isolated glitches. They are widespread, systemic failures that have locked out hundreds of deserving organisations, many in rural areas with limited internet access, before they could even begin to fill out their applications,” SADA argues.
Unacceptable neglect
“SADA must state, in the strongest possible terms, that this level of governmental neglect is unacceptable. What is perhaps most alarming is the total lack of communication from both the DSD and the NLC during this critical period. There is no official accessible responsive helpline, no regular status updates, and no acknowledgment of the immense strain of this dysfunction places on organisations already stretched to their limits,” SADA states.
“When government departments fail to execute their most basic administrative functions, they betray the constitutional rights, dignity, and the very survival of these vulnerable communities.”
As many of the disability organisations already operate on minimal resources, this lack of access to funding is a truly threatening situation. SADA calls for serious intervention.
“Specifically, we call on the Minister of Social Development, Ms Nokuzola Tolashe and the Chairperson of the National Lotteries Commission, Prof Nyameko Barney Pityana as well as the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), and all relevant oversight bodies to reopen the NLC 2025/26 funding window; capacitate the DSD register; disclose the NLC portal development process; stabilise and restore the DSD and NLC systems; establish accessible, real-time technical support, and launch an independent inquiry.”
“These actions are not negotiable. The rights and dignity of persons with disabilities cannot be held captive to a malfunctioning website or a silent bureaucracy,” the national organisation says.
Read the full statement by SADA here.
