KZN Social Development clears invoice backlog as turnaround strategy begins to pay dividends
Shinga said the department has succeeded in eliminating the backlog in payments to service providers while also creating employment opportunities for unemployed social work graduates.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development MEC Mbali Shinga has announced significant progress in stabilising the department’s finances and strengthening frontline service delivery following years of budget cuts that have stripped it of billions of rands
Tabling the department’s R3.8 billion budget in the KZN Legislature on Tuesday, Shinga said the department has succeeded in eliminating the backlog in payments to service providers while also creating employment opportunities for unemployed social work graduates.
The department, Shinga said, had achieved a 98.13% compliance rate in paying service providers.
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The department is ensuring compliance with the PFMA and Treasury Regulations by paying service provider invoices within 30 days.
“This success has been made possible through belt-tightening efforts and a strong working relationship with the KZN Provincial Treasury. This intervention has also eliminated hardships experienced by NPOs over late payments,” she said.
The prompt payment of invoices, Shinga said, had also ensured that non-profit organisations which provide many of the province’s social welfare services, received their quarterly subsidies on time.
While acknowledging that the department continued to face severe financial constraints, Shinga said careful reprioritisation had enabled it to resume the recruitment of frontline personnel after years of austerity measures.
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“We have appointed 80 social work supervisors and 102 social workers. These appointments are not simply numbers on a staffing report, they represent families who now have an income, graduates whose hope has been restored and communities that will receive much-needed support,” she said.
The department has also enrolled 519 participants in the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) while another 182 graduates and students are receiving workplace experience through internship programmes.
While Shinga said the employment of social work graduates was a significant achievement, she however admitted that the interventions would not eliminate the backlog of unemployed social work graduates.
On the importance of her social development, Shinga said the department’s budget should not be viewed as a cost to the government but as an investment that reduces future pressure on healthcare and the criminal justice system.
“Reinvesting in social development is not an administrative burden; it is a vital catalyst for building a resilient province and unlocking inclusive economic participation and future prosperity. So, when we invest in our most vulnerable, we do not just spend, we empower for the future,” she said.
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For the 2026/27 financial year, the department received a budget allocation of R3.8 billion, with the largest share going to children and families programmes, followed by social welfare services.