The Northern Cape MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Abraham Vosloo, said provincial government would pay off its rates and taxes debt in the next two years, where R70 million has been allocated towards settling its bills with Sol Plaatje Municipality.
THE NORTHERN Cape MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Abraham Vosloo, said provincial government would pay off its rates and taxes debt in the next two years, where R70 million has been allocated towards settling its bills with Sol Plaatje Municipality.
Tabling the second adjustment bill and 2023 appropriation bill last week, Vosloo said that the provincial revenue fund was “healthy”.
“We have not paid a single cent towards interest payments.”
He added that the adjustment budget would provide for additional resources despite a projected deficit of R150 million for the 2023/24 financial year.
“In balancing the budget, we have not reduced baselines of departments or compromised our liquidity levels as a Province. We are tabling a better fiscal outlook since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
He stated that the largest slice of the cake, or 72 percent of the equitable share, would be allocated to the departments of Health and Education.
“An additional amount of R532.6 million over the medium-term expenditure framework is added to the Department of Education to address various budget pressures. These include compensation of employees, with an amount of R292.8 million, R142.9 million to address the sectoral norms and standards shortfall, R49.6 million is related to the adjustments to hostel subsidies and R100 million for the education turnaround strategy, which is part of the Grade 12 intervention programme.
“In the 2023/24 financial year, an additional R75 million has been appropriated to fill over 150 district- and province-based critical vacancies to support schools effectively.”
He indicated that the national Department of Health had stopped the transfer of R4 million to the Department of Health in respect of the national health insurance grant, due to a “formula error” made by the health sector.
Vosloo added that R3. 6 billion would be allocated to compensate employees in the Department of Health.
“The additional R97 million allocation will assist the department to make more than 142 appointments in administrative, medical, nursing, allied and emergency care professions.”
He noted that high inflation and interest rates and the impact of load shedding was hindering economic growth in the private sector and making it more costly for government to deliver services.
“The community and social services industry in the Province employ the highest number of individuals at 31.6 percent, followed by trade, employing 16.4 percent. The smallest employing industries were utilities and manufacturing, employing 0.6 and 3.3 percent of the provincial workforce.”
He added that despite an improvement in the number of clean audits, there was a need to improve compliance with financial laws and regulations, especially relating to supply chain management, by reducing unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Vosloo stated that officials from Provincial Treasury would be deployed to observe compliance with tender procedures and bid committees to fight corrupt practices in all departments.
“The department is in the final stages of restructuring the municipal programme that is meant to enhance hands-on and results-driven support to municipalities within the Province.
“Municipalities continue to table unfunded budgets that are in contravention of Section 18 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, which stipulates that a municipality’s annual budget must be ‘funded’ and identifies three possible funding sources.”
He added that according to revised procurement policies, provincial departments, public entities and municipalities were compelled to advance procurement opportunities in the Northern Cape to historically disadvantaged individuals who were discriminated against on the basis of race, gender and disability.
“The vulnerable groups in the Province include women, youth and people living with disabilities.”
Vosloo indicated that provincial government spent R3.5 billion on the procurement of goods and services during the 2022/23 financial year.
“Provincial government is the Province’s largest single buyer of goods, services and construction works and this has the potential, through procurement activities, to redress the economic imbalances of the past and to stimulate and promote local economic development, especially amongst women, youth, people living with disabilities and small and medium-size businesses.”
He added that the top three commodities of the 3,385 suppliers from whom services were procured in the Province, were infrastructure, safety and security and medicine inventory.
“A market analysis will be conducted in conjunction with the Office of the MEC for the Department of Youth, Women, Disability, Communication and e-Government to empower 14 suppliers, comprising of women, youth and people living with disabilities.“
TOTAL BUDGET: R64.2 billion
Infrastructure development: R9.6 billion
Job creation: R31.7 million
Governance and Administration Sector: R3.7 billion
Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison towards the revenue enhancement strategy: R16. 5 million
Department of Women, Youth, People living with Disabilities, Communications and e-Government: R47.4 billion
Early Childhood Development: R626.5 million
Department of Sport, Arts and Culture: R1.5 million for sport tourism development
Economic growth through public infrastructure investment: R11.8 billion
Government’s economic recovery plan: R4.9 billion
Provincial road maintenance grant: R3.7 billion
Upgrading of informal settlements: R1.2 billion
Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs: R100 million
Human Settlements Development Grant and the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant: R94.7 million
Improvement of conditions of service at the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison: R5 million.
