‘We cannot afford to be indebted before the financial year even begins.’
FF+ MEMBER of the Northern Cape provincial legislature Danie Coetzee is concerned that the Premier’s Office received increased funding of 55 percent, while service delivery departments only grew by single figures in the second adjustment bill and 2023 appropriation bill.
“We will closely monitor the details of the premier’s budget when each department’s budget is discussed,” said Coetzee.
He welcomed the R400 million that was allocated to the central region over the next three years.
“The provincial roads are in a horrendous state as a result of heavy-duty trucks and manganese loads that are transported out of the Kalahari.
“We would have liked to see a bigger increase to the agricultural sector than the R950 million that was allocated to agriculture and land reform, as it remains a backbone of the economy.”
DA member of the provincial legislature Fawzia Rhoda believed that departments were incapable of managing conditional grants or infrastructure projects properly.
“The Province started the current financial year by surrendering more than R31 million back to National Treasury because departments did not spend their grants fully,” said Rhoda.
“It is an absolute indictment that we are giving back millions of rand when the provincial need is so high. We cannot afford to give back a third of our money every year simply because departments are not implementing the correct procedures.
“We also cannot afford to be indebted before the financial year even begins.”
She added that the Province had a projected deficit of R150 million for the 2023/24 financial year, that had yet to begin.
“This can come as no surprise, considering that four departments had overdrafts at the end of the previous financial year and another three had accrual-adjusted deficits.
“Until we get the basic implementation and governance right, we will continue to have the same problem every year. For the sake of service delivery in the Northern Cape, we must ensure that public funds are spent for public benefit.”
