“We are busy reviewing our plans to incorporate Covid-19 interventions and will align them with the special budget adjustments and re-table the plans in August this year.”
NORTHERN CAPE premier, Dr Zamani Saul said the budget of R273,3 million that was allocated to his office for the 2020/’21 financial year would be revised downwards to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are busy reviewing our plans to incorporate Covid-19 interventions and will align them with the special budget adjustments and re-table the plans in August this year.”
Delivering the budget speech, he stated that the national lockdown had brought about the need to work with technology and through virtual platforms.
“We have secured 500 Microsoft team licenses to use at no charge for six months. The deployment and training on this new platform has started in most provincial government departments ensuring the continuity of work in various environments, be it strategy, oversight or decision-making.”
He indicated that 94 percent of goods supplied to the Office of the Premier were procured from local service providers and suppliers for the period ending March 31, in terms of the preferential procurement policy framework and regulations.
“We are also doing well when it comes to ensuring that we pay our suppliers and service providers within the prescribed 30 day period.”
He added that the provincial operation clean audit task team that was established under the leadership of the director general was leading good governance and a clean administration.
“Part of ensuring clean governance is also to ensure that we will be steadfast in fighting corruption wherever it rears its ugly head.”
Saul stated that they were in the process of phasing in insourcing of services in an effort to create decent and sustainable jobs.
“Provincial Treasury is the lead department on this commitment and the Premier’s Office is playing a coordinating role. The Provincial Treasury is in the final stages of a study to investigate the feasibility of insourcing certain outsourced functions such as the security and cleaning services.”
