Amy Foundation: WC DSD to perform M&E today

The Provincial Department of Social Development has received reports that the Amy Foundation has closed its offices from 20 November 2018 and that it will not be reopened in 2019. We have further been informed that the NGOs information technology systems have all been shut down and that its managing director, Mr Kevin Chaplin, has left for the UK on 20 November, whilst the Foundation’s employees protested at the airport.

The staff allege that the Amy Foundation has been carrying out retrenchments, following the closure of its after-care services in Gugulethu, and are complaining of workplace harassment and alleged financial mismanagement of the Foundation. The Department has likewise found that the Amy Foundation has become non-compliant with the terms of its funding agreement with us, and we are concerned this may point to maladministration and misappropriation of public funds.

MEC Fritz said, “The Department of Social Development has been forced to suspend funding to the organisation and has been trying to assist them to become compliant with the terms of their contract. With these latest developments, the department will conduct an onsite monitoring and evaluation visit to the organisation today to confirm whether the organisation has in fact closed, and to initiate a forensic audit should any evidence indicating potential fraud or theft of public funds be uncovered.”

The Department of Social Development in the Western Cape remains committed to supporting our NPOs and ensuring they use public funds in a clean and accountable manner. It is not in the communities’ interest to see the closure of a facility which provides after-school care, and protects children from exposure to criminal elements, and we are seeking a rapid solution to this situation, either by assisting with stabilising the Amy Foundation, or finding an alternative organisation to provide these care services to the community.