Litigation: Landmark judgment for NGOs
A landmark judgment in Free State High Court that found the provincial government’s financing model for NGOs is unconstitutional will lead to a new deal for welfare organisations, says a Volksblad report. It notes Judge Ian van der Merwe ordered the Free State provincial government to draft a new financing model. The report says the order is expected to benefit thousands of children, as well as poor, aged and disabled people who rely on subsidies from the government to support NGOs. Welfare organisations in other provinces have watched the court battle closely in order to consider similar actions, the report notes. Van der Merwe ordered the government to address the discrepancies between its subsidies to NGOs and monies set aside for its own services. The NGOs must continue to receive their subsidies in the interim, he ordered.
