Lerato Mailoane
Gauteng Finance and Economic Development MEC, Lebogang Maile has painted a bleak picture of the economic environment as he presented the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement resulting in the unforeseen debt which the provincial government will avail additional resources to deal with unavoidable costs.
Delivering the province’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement to lawmakers at the legislature in Johannesburg, MEC Maile, said while the Main Appropriation allocates resources for the financial year, it can be revised during the Adjustments Budget, which is for unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure.
The adjustments budget also formalises the shifting of funds within and between votes, some of which cannot be done at any other time, as well as the incorporation of Conditional Grant and Provincial Equitable Share funds from the preceding financial year.
A total of R1.2 billion will be rolled over to the 2024/25 financial year from the 2023/24 financial year, comprising R920.9 million in Conditional Grants and R282.5 million in Provincial Equitable Share funds.
“These funds are for defraying prior year expenditure for various departments relating to Goods and Services and commitments in payments for Capital Assets. In the 2024/25 financial year, our budget will be adjusted upwards with an amount of R2.1 billion. For the Office of the Premier, we have set aside, an amount of R135 million, of which R73.9 million is for outstanding Life Esidimeni claims, R57.4 million for the Commission of Inquiry into the Usindiso Building fire Life, and R4.2 million for SA Police Service (SAPS) security to the Commission of Inquiry.”
He said the Gauteng Provincial Legislature will be allocated an amount of R53.7 million to provide for operational requirements and funding support for political parties represented in the legislature.
Maile said though there have been budget cuts and budget prioritisation, there will be no job cuts in education and health departments.
He said to partially offset pressures in the payment of employees an amount R600 million for the Department of Health, R300 million for the Department of Education, R70 million for the Department of Social Development, an amount of R59 million will go to the Department of Environment and R42.2 million for the Department of Infrastructure Development.
To supporting the most vulnerable members of society, he said an additional amount of R221.8 million is allocated to reinstate the budget allocated to qualifying non-profit institutions back to the 2023/24 baseline of R2.1 billion. An additional amount of R109 million is allocated to the Department of Human Settlements to fund Interim Sanitation.
An amount of R260 million is allocated to Roads and Transport, of which R250 million is to cover the shortfall in the Gautrain Patronage Guarantee, a contractual commitment, and the balance of R10 million towards Goods and Services. For Community Safety, an amount of R68.5 million is reallocated, which comprises interdepartmental receivable balances, which are funds spent on behalf of other organs of state
“To enhance the capacity of the state, we are allocating an amount of R8.3 million for the establishment of the Department of Environment, of which R2.4 million and R5.8 million is for the establishment of the Office of the HOD and Office of the MEC, respectively.
“We will also allocate an amount of R150 million to the Department of e-Government towards the replacement of obsolete equipment for the Gauteng Provincial Network. Additionally, an amount of R128 million is allocated to the Department of Infrastructure Development for office accommodation.”
SOURCED FROM THE GPG WEBSITE.
