#GP2023/24AdjustmentBudget: No tangible solution to rescue Gauteng residents from high costs of living, unemployment and poverty
28 November 2023
The Gauteng Adjustment Budget for the 2023/2024 financial year is full of empty promises and fails to outline how this province intends to create more employment opportunities, improve the quality of life of our residents, eradicate poverty, and clamp down on corruption and crime.
Today, the Gauteng MEC for Finance, Jacob Mamabolo, delivered the Adjustment Budget for 2023/2024 in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).
The following departments received an increase in their budget:
- Office of the Premier: R86 million
- Gauteng Department of Health: R2.5 billion
- Gauteng Department of Social Development: R70 million
- Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: R441 million
- Gauteng Department of Human Settlements: R160 million
- Gauteng Department of Community Safety: R10 million
- Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: R159,1 million
- Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation: R37 million
- Gauteng e-Government: R10 million
- Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development: R429 million
While the increase in the budgets of these departments is welcomed, our residents are continually failed by this government. This government is failing to ensure that critical targets like job creation are met and to implement consequence management to root out corruption and ensure accountability.
Furthermore, more emphasis needs to be placed on capacitating entities like the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP), the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA), and the Gauteng Film Commission (GFC), to name a few, to deliver on their core mandate.
These entities are meant to help grow the economy, but when looking at the annual reports and quarterly reports, many of the key targets that are set through the Annual Performance Plan (APP) are not met.
In addition, red tape must be cut to make it easier for the private sector to do business with the government. The private sector also needs assurance that their assets and investments will be protected for the benefit of Gauteng residents.
In terms of e-Tolls, the debt stands at R12.9 billion, and they will be submitted on 15 December on how the province plans to pay the debt, yet they have not disclosed the plans as part of good governance.
The proposed Provincial State Bank will use another bank to do its business on behalf of the government, while it is not clear whether the proposed pharmaceutical company will be manufacturing its own medicine or procuring from other pharmaceutical companies.
It makes no sense to use a middleman for certain services that the government can do themselves.
Instilling a false sense of urgency about delivering better services to our residents is only creating a false sense of security. Our residents deserve a government that will truly put their needs first and responsibly manage the public purse.
Issued by Solly Msimanga, Leader of the Official Opposition – Gauteng, 28 November 2023
